EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Hodges Hammers Homers

Published on July 15, 2011 under Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


BOWIE, Md. - Richmond first baseman Wes Hodges homered twice and left-handed starter Ryan Verdugo shut down the Baysox and snapped their seven-game winning streak with a 4-2 win Friday night. With the loss, the Baysox fall to 48-42 on the season and back into a tie for second place in the Western Division with Richmond.

The Baysox entered the game on a season-high seven game win streak and had recorded double-digit hits in five straight games, but both streaks ended in Friday's loss. The Baysox recorded just four hits and were sent back to the dugout by Verdugo nine times.

"He [Verdugo] didn't throw a fastball inside to our righties and we didn't adjust very well to that," said Hitting Coach Denny Hocking. "He threw some good pitches, but offensively, we didn't do a good job making the proper adjustments in order to put some heat on him and force him to throw pressure pitches."

Miclat was the lone bright spot for the Baysox offense as he recorded three of the team's four hits and drove in a run. Miclat has been on fire recently as he extended his hit streak to 11 games, tying his season-high.

"I've been seeing the ball well lately and I have just been trying not to think too much - see the ball and hit the ball," Miclat said. "I got some good pitches to hit and I didn't miss them. He [Verdugo] threw his off-speed pitches a lot more for strikes than he had in the past and that kept us off-balance."

In the top of the second inning, Wes Hodges gave the Flying Squirrels an early lead with a solo home run to left field against left-handed starter Zach Britton to make the score 1-0.

The Flying Squirrels added to their lead in the top of the eighth inning against left-handed pitcher Rick Zagone. Charlie Culberson hit a lead off single through the hole at shortstop and with two outs, Hodges hit his second home run of the game to left field to give Richmond a 3-0 lead.

"It's a little different approach," Zagone said. "Having a starter mentality is totally different than coming into the game just not knowing how the game is flowing. The first inning I was just glad to get through and then I felt like I was more in the game in the second inning, but I made the one mistake in the eighth inning."

In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Baysox got one back against Richmond reliever Hector Correa. Shortstop Pedro Florimon led off with a walk and stole second base. With two outs, Miclat knocked him in with his third hit of the game, a single to right-center field, to make the score 3-1.

Richmond answered right back in the top of the ninth inning against right-handed reliever Pat Egan. With two outs and Sharlon Schoop at first, Francisco Peguero hit an RBI double to left field to give the Flying Squirrels a three-run lead at 4-1.

The Baysox attempted a come-back in the ninth inning against Richmond reliever Heath Hembree, but it fell short. First baseman Joe Mahoney led off the Baysox half of the ninth inning with a triple to right field and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Caleb Joseph to bring the Baysox within two runs. Hembree then retired the final two batters of the game to finish off the Baysox.

Britton pitched three innings in his return to the Baysox after beginning the season in Baltimore. He was charged with the loss as he allowed one run on two hits while striking out two batters. Zach also had the unique opportunity to play with his older brother Buck, who was the designated hitter for the Baysox Friday night.

"It's nice to see the guys - I played with a lot of these guys last year in Norfolk and here in Bowie so it was good to get back out there because it had been a long break," Britton said. "I was just trying to work on some stuff, continue what I was doing up there [Baltimore]. I wanted to come in and throw a lot of off-speed pitches and overall, I thought I made good pitches, but I made a few mistakes."

Zagone pitched five innings in relief of Britton and allowed one run on two hits while striking out one. Egan pitched the ninth inning for the Baysox and allowed one run on two hits.

Saturday, RHP Chorye Spoone (3-5, 4.69) takes the mound for the Baysox as they take on the Richmond Flying Squirrels. His opponent will be RHP Daryl Maday (2-7, 4.38).

Bowie is home through Sunday, July 17 for a four game home stand against the Richmond Flying Squirrels. The home stand features exciting promotions including Superhero Night and Fireworks Saturday, July 16, and Scrubs Sunday, July 16.

Baysox Baseball - We'll Knock Your 'Sox Off. The Baysox 19th season as the class Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles 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 July 15, 2011


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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