Bowling Green, Kentucky – Starting pitcher Jacob Kisting posted the longest outing by a Bowling Green Hot Rods (44-17) pitcher this season, twirling 6.2 scoreless innings in a 5-1 victory over the Rome Emperors (32-29) on Saturday night.
Kisting commanded the zone, tying his career-high eight strikeouts with at least one punch out in six of the seven innings he pitched in. The Hot Rods’ starter allowed just three hits in the win.
Bowling Green grabbed the lead with three runs in the bottom of the second against reliever Mathieu Curtis. Ryan McCoy doubled and moved to third on a Marshall Toole bunt single, teeing up a Juanfel Peguero RBI single into left field for a 1-0 Hot Rods edge. Theo Gillen delivered an RBI single to score Toole, and a Rome throwing error plated Peguero for a 3-0 lead.
The Hot Rods tallied two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Gillen singled off Curtis, swiped second, and moved to third on an error. Caden Bodine struck a sacrifice fly to left field, upping the Bowling Green lead to 4-0. Aidan Smith blasted a solo home run out to left field against new Rome reliever Riley Frey for a 5-0 margin.
Rome got on the board with one run against reliever Andy Rodriguez in the top of the eighth inning. Eric Hartman hit a solo home run to right field, trimming the Bowling Green lead to 5-1.
Rodriguez shut the game down from there, retiring the last four batters he faced to seal a 5-1 Hot Rods victory and a 3-2 series lead.
Kisting (4-0) earned the win with 6.2 scoreless frames, allowing just three hits and one walk and added eight strikeouts. Curtis (1-1) took the loss, surrendering four runs on five hits, two walks and one strikeout in 2.1 innings.
The Hot Rods and Emperors finish their six-game slate Sunday afternoon at 1:05 PM CT. Left-hander Dominic Niman (3-0, 1.35) starts for Bowling Green against Rome’s right-hander Jeremy Reyes (2-6, 5.44).
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