Hoping to extend to a six-game winning streak on Thursday night, the Bowie Baysox were instead turned away by the Erie SeaWolves, dropping the third game of their series 12-10. Bowie allowed runs in six different innings on the night, and trailed by nine runs at one point, before the offense launched a comeback attempt in the final two innings.
Erie’s offense wasted no time taking an early lead against Brandon Young in the first inning, as the first four batters of the game reached base. Chris Meyers drove in the first run with a single, and Corey Joyce added a sacrifice fly to the inning. Young (L, 0-1) spun a scoreless second inning, but he was tagged for an additional run in the third when Luis Santana reached on a fielder’s choice, forcing Young’s exit.
The offensive attack was targeted at Ignacio Feliz in the fourth inning, as Jace Jung drove in a pair of runs with a double, and Meyers drove in another run, giving Erie a 6-0 lead. After Bowie had cut the six-run lead in half, Feliz allowed a leadoff home run to Santana in the fifth inning, and an RBI single to Julio Rodriguez.
Bowie had a tough time finding timely hits against Bryan Sammons, as the lefty carried a shutout into the fifth inning, until Jud Fabian hit a three-run home run to left field for his 12th of the season. Sammons (W, 1-1) struck out seven batters over five innings of work.
The Bowie bullpen turned to Conner Loeprich, but the Erie bats still found success against him, as Jung led off the sixth inning with a solo home run, and Santana slugged a two-run home run later in the inning for his second of the game. Dan Hammer took the final two innings for Bowie on the mound, and he allowed Erie’s 12th run in the seventh on a bases-loaded ground out by Meyers.
With Bowie trailing by nine, they began to make Erie sweat in the eighth inning. With one out, Bowie scraped together five runs on RBI hits from Maxwell Costes, Max Wagner, and John Rhodes, as well as a base-loaded walk by Fabian. While Bowie was making the steps towards an improbable comeback, it was quickly halted by an inning-ending double play. The ninth inning saw Bowie make a quick return to threaten Erie, as they loaded the bases again on the first three pitches of the frame. Dylan Beavers and Wagner each drove in runs, and they put the tying run on base for the Baysox, but back-to-back strikeouts cut the comeback bid short.
With the loss, Bowie falls to 58-59 on the season. They will try to start a new winning streak on Friday, as they continue their six-game series with Erie at 6:35 p.m.
