Jackson Holliday hit his third home run at the Double-A level – his second in as many days, but the Bowie Baysox still let the series finale get away from them on Sunday, as they fell to the Portland Sea Dogs, 11-2.
The damage piled up on Bowie early. In the top of the second, Portland took the lead with an RBI single from Tyler Dearden against right-handed starter Ryan Long. John Rhodes laced a solo home run against Portland’s Isaac Coffey in the bottom half of the third, but from there, the Sea Dogs took charge. Things continued to get away from Long, as Portland retook the lead on a two-run double by Blaze Jordan, before a two-run home run from Corey Rosier made it 5-1 Sea Dogs and finished Long’s day after four innings. Long (L, 2-2) allowed five runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
Holliday’s home run came in the bottom of the sixth – a solo shot to get Bowie back within three at 5-2. Sunday marked the first time in Holliday’s career that he notched back-to-back home runs in his professional career.
However, from there, the Baysox would not edge any closer. Coffey (W, 5-1) completed six innings, allowing just the two runs on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Sea Dogs pulled away to the tune of a six-run seventh inning in a third inning of relief for right-hander Jean Pinto. After Pinto retired the first six batters he faced, the right-hander allowed a solo home run to Tyler McDonough to kick off the seventh. Later in the frame, Chase Meidroth bounced into a fielder’s choice that brought a run home before an error from first baseman Jacob Teter allowed Phillip Sikes singled home another. That extended the inning for Dearden, who launched a three-run home run, giving him four RBI on the day, and Portland its emphatic nine-run lead.
Right-hander Nick Richmond contributed a pair of scoreless innings following Pinto, but the Bowie bats never truly got going after the Holliday homer, as the Baysox failed to record a hit after the sixth inning.
The loss drops Bowie to 48-54 overall on the season. The Baysox still claim the series over the Sea Dogs and will have Monday off before starting a six game series in Richmond on Tuesday against the Flying Squirrels, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. ET.
