Two big swings for the Bowie Baysox set the tone for another seven-game series on Tuesday, as they staved off the Altoona Curve at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona. Coby Mayo and Billy Cook each blasted two run home runs to right field to capitalize the night.
Making his Double-A debut, Jean Pinto refused to break against a constant Altoona attack. Despite allowing seven hits and walking three batters, Pinto struck out four batters and only allowed one run. Pinto left runners in scoring position in all four innings completed.
The game was held scoreless into the third innings thanks to Altoona’s Aaron Shortridge. After a single by Joseph Rosa, Coby Mayo continued his torrid June with his team-leading 12th home run of the season to put Bowie ahead. Shortridge (L, 3-5) allowed four more hits into the sixth inning, but was not tagged for another run. Bowie used another long ball in the eighth inning as Billy Cook plated a ball into the left field berm, a two-run blast for his seventh of the season.
Pitching in relief, Bowie got strong outings from Conner Loeprich and Ofreidy Gomez. Loeprich (W, 1-1) worked a double play on the first pitch he threw, and finished a season-high 2.2 innings on the mound. Gomez (Sv, 3) was aided by an assist at the plate from center fielder Jud Fabian to fire two scoreless innings.
Bowie improves to 28-35 on the season thanks to the win, and will have an opportunity to take a large lead in the series on Wednesday. Continuing their seven-game series, the Baysox and the Curve will play a doubleheader, with the first pitch of the opening game set for 4:30 p.m.
