One of their biggest wins this month, the Bowie Baysox crushed the Akron RubberDucks on Thursday behind a 12-hit effort in a 10-1 win.
While each starter opened with two scoreless innings, Bowie took the first strike in the third inning against Doug Nihkazy as Coby Mayo and Cesar Prieto each collected RBI singles. Bowie could have brought in more, but they had two runners thrown out during the inning.
Akron got their lone run of the game on the first pitch from Chayce McDermott in the third inning, as Julian Escobedo drilled a solo home run, getting Akron within one run. McDermott was still able to keep Akron from adding to their total, but could only throw four innings, missing out on earning the win.
The game went wild in the fourth inning, as an RBI single by Maverick Handley knocked Nikhazy (L, 0-2) out of the game. Three batters later, Coby Mayo shot a grand slam to left field, giving Bowie a six-run lead.
Long relief was a key component of the game for both sides, as Griffin McLarty (W, 3-4) tossed three scoreless innings for Bowie, striking out one batter. Akron got nearly five innings of relief from left-hander Eli Lingos. Lingos was charged for two runs on Mayo’s grand slam, but he did not allow anything else until the eighth inning.
After Bowie got two quick singles to open the frame, Akron switched to reliever Cade Smith, but Connor Norby lined a two-RBI double to left field, and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Mayo.
Clayton McGinness tossed two scoreless innings for Bowie, striking out four batters in his first appearance in just under two weeks.
It was a career-high six-RBI day for Mayo, while Zach Watson matched a career-high three hits for Bowie.
Bowie improves to 67-68 on the season, and 40-26 in the second half. Combined with an Erie SeaWolves loss, Bowie returns into a tie for first place in the Southwest Division.
With only three games left in the regular season, Erie still maintains the tiebreakers for the postseason. Bowie and Akron will continue their six-game series on Friday, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Order your 2022 Baysox tickets online or call 301-464-4865 to purchase over the phone.
