EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Ballard Moves to 5-0

Published on July 17, 2011 under Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


BOWIE, Md. - Left-handed starting pitcher Mike Ballard pitched eight innings and allowed just one run as the Baysox beat the Squirrels 6-1 at home Sunday night to win their fourth consecutive series. With the win, the Baysox move to 50-42 on the season.

With the win, his fifth in eight games (seven starts), Ballard set a new team-high winning streak by a pitcher. During his time in Bowie, Ballard has struck out 54 batters while only walking three and pitching to a 3.06 ERA.

"[Catcher] Caleb [Joseph] was great back there; he and I were on the same page pretty much the whole night," Ballard said. "It was one of those nights where I feel like I didn't necessarily have my best - I gave up some hits on some pitches I kind of left over the plate and a couple of them were with two strikes. It was one of those days where I feel like I did a good job of grinding it out."

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Luke Scott hit a home run and scored twice playing with Bowie for the first time in his career as part of a Major League rehab assignment.

"My timing was definitely off - everything looked 100 mph," Scott said. "Just my balance and feel wasn't great - I just tried to battle and put the ball in play, have good at bats, swing at strikes. The guys on the mound threw pretty well today - there were not many mistakes, they mixed up their pitches well."

The Baysox got the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning against Richmond starter Justin Fitzgerald. They loaded the bases on back-to-back singles by center fielder Xavier Avery and second baseman Greg Miclat and then a walk to Scott, the designated hitter. First baseman Joe Mahoney then hit a ground ball to first baseman Wes Hodges who threw it away trying to get a force out at second, allowing two runs to score on the play.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Scott drew a one out walk before the Baysox added to the lead with an opposite field two-run home run by Mahoney. It was the sixth home run of the season for Mahoney and it gave them a 4-0 lead. Mahoney drove in three runs in the game and it was his fourth three-RBI game of the season.

"[Fitzgerald] was throwing soft stuff and I got to two strikes so I just figured I had to put something in play," Mahoney said. "I got to two strikes again [in the sixth inning] and he just gave me a fastball to hit on the outer half and I just tried to hit it hard. It's more important to hit with runners on base; they are doing a good job getting on."

Roger Kieschnick got one run back for the Flying Squirrels against Ballard with a lead-off solo home run to right-center field in the seventh inning to cut the lead to 4-1.

In the eighth inning, the Baysox added two more runs against Richmond reliever Alex Hinshaw. Scott led off the inning with a home run to right field to push the lead to five runs and Mahoney doubled to center field and was knocked in by left fielder L.J. Hoes to make the score 6-1.

Right-handed reliever Brandon Cooney pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the Baysox to finish the game though it was not a save situation as the Baysox were leading by five runs.

Miclat recorded a hit and a run and extended his hitting streak to a team-high 13 games, passing Buck Britton, who hit safely in 12 straight games. During that stretch, Miclat has scored 17 runs and stolen nine bases.

The middle of the Baysox batting order was deadly Sunday evening as Scott and Mahoney, who hit third and fourth, combined for three hits, two home runs, four runs and four RBIs. The Baysox offense lacked power early in the season, but has turned that around as Mahoney has gotten healthy and the hitters around him have gotten hot.

"It was nice to have that from the middle of the order," said Manager Gary Kendall. "Mahoney's first at bat he stayed on a ball and put it in play and got a run that turned into two runs with the throwing error. Later in the game Mahoney just kept getting better and of course Luke [Scott] gave us one. Caleb [Joseph] had a really nice day - he hit four balls right on the nose and moved a big runner to third base late in the game - it was spread all throughout the lineup."

Monday, RHP Tim Bascom (5-2, 2.96) takes the mound for the Baysox as they travel to Harrisburg to take on the Senators. His opponent will be RHP Erik Arnesen (6-1, 2.27).

The Baysox begin a three game road trip to Harrisburg Monday, July 18 before returning home for seven games Thursday, July 21. Washington Nationals first overall draft pick Bryce Harper and the Harrisburg Senators come to town July 25-27.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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