EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Baysox Drop The Ball in Loss To Akron

Published on April 19, 2009 under Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


BOWIE, Md. - The Baysox struggled defensively and could not muster up much offense against Aeros lefty Chuck Lofgren. The Aeros roll out of Bowie after winning three out of four over the Baysox, culminating with a 6-3 win Sunday afternoon. The Aeros left-hander tossed six innings allowing just one run on two hits and a walk while striking out three. The Baysox got home runs from Adam Donachie and Ambiorix Concepcion, but it was not enough as the Aeros shut the door with the tying run on in the ninth.

Akron got on the board in the first for the second night in a row. Newly promoted right-hander Sean Gleason walked Jose Constanza on four pitches to start the game. Carlos Rivero hit a potential double play ball to short, but Robert Valido bobbled it and Rivero beat the throw to first putting two men on with nobody out. Beau Mills grounded out to move the runners up, and Constanza later scored on a passed ball to put the Aeros out to an early 1-0 lead.

The Aeros added two more in the top of the third as Carlos Rivero led off with a single and Beau Mills followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Carlos Santana rolled an RBI groundout to second, and Nick Weglarz followed with a sacrifice fly to score Mills and put Akron up by three.

The wheels fell off for Gleason in the fifth, as the Aeros tallied three runs before Josh Perrault came on in relief. Beau Mills started the inning with a single through the hole at second. Carlos Santana followed with a double down the line in right, and Ambiorix Concepcion bobbled the ball on the transfer allowing Mills to score. Nick Weglarz came to the plate and took the next pitch he saw the opposite way for a two-run home run which put Akron on top 6-0 as manager Brad Komminsk was forced to go to his bullpen.

"I was kind of amped up," Gleason admitted of his first appearance in Double-A. "I wasn't efficient enough throwing strikes but I've got to shake it off and get ready for my next start."

The Baysox put up their first run of the game in the bottom of the inning, as Ambiorix Concepcion hit a towering home run off Lofgren to cut the deficit to five. The home run was the Baysox first hit off of Lofgren in 4.1 innings. Lofgren gave up another hit on a bloop single by Melvin Dorta in the sixth before turning it over to the bullpen.

"We've been hitting the ball hard," Dorta said on the team's struggles during the series. "That's just how it goes sometimes in baseball, sometimes you hit it right at them."

The Baysox tried to get back in it in the eighth, as Adam Donachie launched his first home run of the season to lead off the inning against Aeros reliever Neil Wagner. Danny Figueroa followed with his first hit since his return to the lineup after missing a week with a dislocated finger. Wagner settled down, getting Valido to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to shut down any further damage.

The Baysox made the Aeros sweat again in the ninth, staging a rally against Akron side-arm right-hander Randy Newsom. Melvin Dorta drew a walk to start the inning and moved to second on an unusual play. Brandon Snyder grounded the ball back to the mound and Newsom fielded the ball cleanly and threw to second baseman Josh Rodriguez. Rodriguez was not covering second, but had the wherewithal to throw to first to retire Snyder. Guillermo Rodriguez followed with a single to left field past a diving Niuman Romero to put runners on the corners with one out. Miguel Abreu lifted a sacrifice fly to center, plating Dorta and bringing the Baysox within three. Concepcion drew a walk, bringing the tying run to the plate in the form of Adam Donachie. Akron manager Mike Sarbaugh went to closer Vinnie Pestano, and Donachie went down swinging to end the game.

With the loss, the Baysox drop to 5-6 on the season. They now sit three and a half games behind Akron for the Southern Division lead.

One bright spot for the Baysox in the game was the work of Baysox relievers Josh Perrault and Wilfrido Perez, who combined to hold the Aeros scoreless through the last five innings of work. Perrault worked three perfect innings, extending his scoreless streak to ten innings on the season. Perez extended a scoreless streak of his own, striking out two and walking one over the final two innings. Perez has not allowed a run in six innings on the season.

The Baysox (5-6) will start a three-game set against the Erie SeaWolves (6-5) on Monday. RHP Jake Arrieta (1-0, 1.00 ERA) will go up against Erie LHP Jon Kibler (0-1, 8.83 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05.

The Baysox 17th season as the class AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles is underway! Don't miss a moment of the action as the Baysox attempt to bring home their first Eastern League championship. Individual game tickets and ticket packages are available now at www.baysox.com or by calling the Baysox box office at (301) 464-4865.

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Eastern League Stories from April 19, 2009


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