Asheville, North Carolina – The Tampa Bay Rays No. 12 prospect Caden Bodine became the third individual player this season to record a four-hit game for the Bowling Green Hot Rods (49-19, 2-1), leading to a 7-2 win and a series victory over the Asheville Tourists (18-50, 1-2) on Sunday at HomeTrust Park in Asheville, North Carolina.
The Tourists plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning against Hot Rods starter Jack Kartsonas. Kyle Walker led off with a double, and Nehomar Ochoa Jr. brought him in with a groundout to shortstop, giving the Tourists a 1-0 lead.
Bowling Green drove in five runs in the top of the second inning against Asheville starter Dylan Howard. Ryan McCoy doubled, Marshall Toole walked, and Carlos Colmenarez was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A Jose Perez grounder and two errors from Ochoa Jr., scored McCoy and Toole to make it 2-1. Theo Gillen knocked in Colmenarez with a base hit, and Bodine brought in Perez with a single, making it a 4-1 lead. Aidan Smith capped off the inning with an RBI single to left, scoring Gillen, creating a 5-1 Hot Rods advantage.
Another run came in to score for the Hot Rods in the top of the fourth against Howard. Gillen reached on a one-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Caden Bodine doubled to right, scoring Gillen, increasing the lead to 6-1.
The Hot Rods added one run in the top of the fifth with Howard still on the mound. Smith singled and stole second. Narciso Polanco doubled to center, scoring Smith, giving the Hot Rods a 7-1 advantage.
Asheville knocked in the final run of the game in the bottom of the ninth against Bowling Green reliever Ryan Andrade. Cesar Hernandez singled, and Jack Moss doubled, putting runners at second and third. John Garcia was put out on a ball that ricocheted off Andrade, scoring Hernandez to make it 7-2. Andrade took care of the rest of the Tourists side, ending the game with Hot Rods win, 7-2.
Kartsonas (4-2) earned the win, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out five over 5.0 frames. Howard (0-3) received the loss, surrendering seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits, walking two and striking out four over 4.1 innings.
The Hot Rods enjoy an off day on Monday before returning to Bowling Green Ballpark to start a six-game series against the Hudson Valley Renegades with a 6:35 PM CT first pitch on Tuesday.
Fans can catch all the action by watching on MiLB.tv, listening through the MiLB First Pitch App and BGHotRods.com. Fans can also secure their seats for future home Hot Rods games by calling (270) 901-2121, visiting the Bowling Green Ballpark box office during normal business hours, or going to www.bghotrods.com.
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Hot Rods Baseball