The Bowie Baysox were unable to contain a sixth-inning outburst from the Richmond Flying Squirrels on Thursday night, dropping the third game of their six-game tilt with Richmond 5-1 behind the four-run frame. John Means grabbed the attention of the day with his first professional appearance following his Tommy John Surgery, firing two scoreless innings.
Means used 17 pitches in a perfect first inning with a strikeout, and eight pitches in a perfect second inning. Over 28 total pitches, Means threw 17 strikes, allowed one base hit, and assisted on two putouts. After a leadoff single in the third inning, Nolan Hoffman bridged the gap between Means and the fourth inning thanks to a weak flyout and double play.
Richmond scored the game’s first run against Kyle Brnovich in the fourth inning on a Carter Aldrete single.
Following four scoreless innings to open the night, Bowie tagged Richmond’s John Michael Bertrand in the fifth on back-to-back doubles. John Rhodes drove in Bowie’s only run with his two-bagger and collected three hits on the night. Wil Jensen (W, 7-0) fired a scoreless inning in the sixth, keeping the game tied before Richmond broke back ahead.
Brnovich (L, 0-2) was quickly put behind in the sixth inning when Wil Wilson hit a leadoff home run to center field. Three more runs would score in the inning as Victor Bericoto drove in one with a fielder’s choice play that failed to produce an out at home plate, and a two-RBI double by Andy Thomas.
Bowie got a strong finish to the night on the mound, as Brnovich and Kade Strowd each turned in perfect innings.
The loss pulls Bowie down to 49-56 on the season, and still three games out of first place in the Southwest Division for the second half. Bowie will look to pull back even in their six-game series with Richmond on Friday night at The Diamond, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
