Bowling Green, Kentucky – Tony Santa Maria drove in three runs, but the Bowling Green Hot Rods (68-27, 21-9) fell 14-6 against the Asheville Tourists (33-62, 16-14) on Sunday afternoon at Bowling Green Ballpark in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The Tourists broke the ice with one run against starting pitcher Kaleb Corbett in the top of the first inning. Justin Thomas Jr. walked, stole second and moved to third on a balk. Caden Powell lifted a sacrifice fly to left field for a 1-0 Asheville advantage.
Bowling Green struck back immediately in the bottom of the first, plating two runs against starter Dylan Howard. Nathan Flewelling clubbed a leadoff homer to right field, tying the game at one. Aidan Smith reached on a fielding error, swiped second base, and crossed home on a Narciso Polanco RBI single for a 2-1 Hot Rods lead.
Asheville plated two more runs against Corbett in the top of the second inning. Zach Daudet walked, swiped second base, and moved to third on a wild pitch. Alejandro Nuñez drilled a game-tying single into right field, evening the game at 2-2. Nuñez stole second and came home on a Bowling Green throwing error, giving the Tourists a 3-2 edge.
The visitors tacked on two runs in the top of the third inning off Corbett. Powell hit a two-out single and Anthony Huezo lifted a two-run homer to right for a 5-2 margin.
Asheville strung another run in the top of the fourth against reliever Mason Nichols. Daudet drew a walk, stole two bases, and touched home on a John Garcia RBI groundout, making it 6-2.
The Tourists plated two runs against reliever Noah Beal in the top of the fifth inning. Kyle Walker laced a base hit, Daudet worked a walk, and Freuddy Batista hit a two-run double to left field for an 8-2 Asheville lead.
Asheville delivered five more runs against left-hander Jackson Lancaster in the top of the seventh. A two-run single by Batista followed by a three-run homer from Xavier Neyens made it 13-2 Tourists.
Bowling Green plated three runs against reliever Raimy Rodriguez in the bottom of the seventh. Smith ripped a single, Connor Hujsak and Polanco followed up with walks and Santa Maria slashed a three-run double to left, pulling the Asheville lead down to eight.
The Tourists scored one run against position player Jose Perez in the top of the ninth inning. Garcia delivered a solo home run to left field, making it 14-5 Asheville.
The Hot Rods got one run back against reliever Max Martin in the bottom of the ninth. Smith crushed a solo home run to center field, cutting the Tourists’ lead to 14-6. Martin retired the next two batters to round out a 14-6 final score.
Howard (1-4) received the win, hurling 5.0 innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits, one walk and six strikeouts. Corbett (3-2) was hooked with the loss, surrendering five runs (four earned), three hits, and two walks, adding one strikeout in 3.0 innings.
The Hot Rods travel to Greensboro, North Carolina for a six-game series against the Greensboro Grasshoppers beginning Tuesday night at 5:30 PM CT.
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