T.J. Nichting homered for the second straight night and Yusniel DIaz drove in three runs as the Baysox defeated the Harrisburg Senators 5-2 on Saturday night. The win was Bowie’s fifth in a row and clinched a sixth consecutive series win.
The game was a pitcher’s duel at the outset, as neither Baysox starter Dean Kremer nor Harrisburg hurler Jackson Tetreault allowed a run through the first four innings.
In the fifth, the Baysox broke through. After Ryan McKenna doubled with one out, Chris Clare reached on an error. With first and third, Mason McCoy laid down a bunt single, scoring McKenna and giving Bowie a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Diaz drove in Clare and McCoy with a single, extending the Baysox lead to 3-0.
Kremer exited the game after the fifth inning after a stellar start, not allowing a run and striking out eight. He gave way to Michael Baumann, who tossed two scoreless frames in his Baysox debut.
In the sixth, Nichting hit a laser over the fence in right field, his second home run as many nights, extending the Bowie lead to 4-0. The Baysox added another run in the seventh on an RBI groundout from Diaz, making it 5-0.
Harrisburg got two runs in the eighth, but Dillon Tate pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning, earning his first career save and securing the 5-2 win.
Along with the five straight wins, Bowie has now captured 12 of the last 13 games and 15 of 18. The Baysox will go for the sweep on Sunday afternoon at FNB Field in Harrisburg. Bruce Zimmermann will start for Bowie, coming off a complete game four-hit shutout in his last start. Harrisburg has not announced its starter.
