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Baysox Late Rally Falls Short

April 21, 2012 - Eastern League (EL) Bowie Baysox

Bowie, Md. - The Baysox fell into an early hole against Erie on a rainy Saturday night, and were not able to dig themselves out late, as they lost 4-3 and fell to 6-11 on the season.

Despite the second loss in a row, Manager Gary Kendall saw some positives in the game and has high hopes for the future.

"We aren't getting that hit early enough and keeping the game close, instead having to battle back," Kendall said. "We showed some life at the end of the game. You hate to lose a ballgame, but I liked that we showed some character; we just let an inning get away from us early in the ballgame."

For the third game in a row, Erie got on the board first with a big second inning. Rawley Bishop hit a lead off double to left field and Rob Brantly moved him to third base on a double to right field. Bishop scored on a balk by right-handed starting pitcher Bobby Bundy with Bryan Pounds batting. After Pounds struck out, Brandon Douglas reached on a single to third base that allowed Brantly to score. Brent Dlugach continued the hits with a double to left field that moved Douglas to third base. Jamie Johnson drew a walk to load the bases and a sacrifice fly by Niuman Romero plated Douglas and gave Erie a 3-0 lead.

The Baysox got one run back in the bottom of the third inning, against Erie starter James Avery. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop hit a lead off double to right field and scored when center fielder LJ Hoes singled to center field to make the score 3-1.

Erie got the run back in the top of the fifth inning. Romero hit a lead off single to center field and moved to second base on a ground out by Plagman. Bishop drew a two-out walk and Romero scored on a single by Brantly to right field that extended the Erie lead to 4-1.

Back-to-back home runs by the Baysox in the bottom of the eighth inning sparked a late rally. Facing Erie reliever Kenny Faulk, Waring hit a solo home run to left-center field and first baseman Tyler Townsend followed with a home run to right-center field that made the score 4-3.

"The past two seasons here I have gotten off to a slow start and I have been in a hole trying to dig out," said Waring. "This year coming in I just wanted to relax in Spring Training and have a strong offseason that I could carry into this season and I have been swinging the bat well so far."

The Baysox had an opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the ninth inning with the tying run on third base, but their comeback effort fell just short. Hoes hit a one out single to right field and Waring hit a two out single to left field that moved Hoes to third base, but Townsend flied out to deep left field to end the game.

Bundy pitched four and two-thirds innings and allowed four runs (three earned) while striking out three batters and walking four more in his third loss of the season. Reliever Eric Hinton pitched one and one-third scoreless innings in relief of Bundy and did not allow a hit, while walking one batter and striking out another. Right-handed reliever Sean Gleason pitched the seventh and eighth innings for the Baysox, allowing just one hit and striking out four batters. Ross Wolf finished off the game for the Baysox with a perfect ninth inning.

In all, the Baysox bullpen pitched four and one-third scoreless innings in one of their best outings of the year. The bullpen kept the Baysox in the game for long enough to mount a comeback in the final innings that fell just short.

"They gave us a chance to win at the end," said Pitching Coach Kennie Steenstra. "They kept us in the game and threw up some zeros and you keep hanging around with a team and you keep getting chances in the later innings you can sometimes come back on them and sneak up on them and we did that a little bit tonight."

The final game in the four game home series against Erie is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. Saturday. LHP Jake Pettit (2-0, 1.89) will be taking the mound against the SeaWolves' RHP Mark Sorensen (0-0, 0.00).

The Baysox are home for a seven-game home stand that lasts through Wednesday, April 25. Fans can come to the game early on Sunday, April 22 and play catch on the field before the 2:05 p.m. game. On Monday, bring your dogs to the game for Mutt Monday at 7:05 p.m. and come early on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. for Tailgate Tuesday.

Baysox Baseball - We'll Knock Your 'Sox Off. The Baysox 20th season is underway. Parking is free at every Baysox home game and tickets are now available at www.baysox.com, or by calling the Baysox box office at (301) 464-4865.

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Eastern League Stories from April 21, 2012


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