Hot Rods Game Notes
July 6, 2022 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
Fireworks on the Fourth of July... In front of the second-largest crowd in the history of Bowling Green Ballpark, the Hot Rods won in walkoff fashion 4-3 over the Hickory Crawdads. BG didn't put a run across until the eighth inning, when Diego Infante launched his 10th homer of the year over the left-centerfield wall, a three-run shot to tie the game up at three. After a 1-2-3 eighth from Anthony Molina and a one-out double off the bat of Nate Soria, Ronny Simon sent in the winning run, hitting a ground ball underneath the glove of Crawdads shortstop Chris Seise that scored Soria and completed the comeback. Alika Williams and Kyle Manzardo recorded multi-hit games for BG and Anthony Molina earned his eighth victory of the season, putting him in a three-way tie for the league lead.
Monday's Notes... Monday's crowd of 6,483 is the second-largest in Bowling Green Ballpark history... It was the largest crowd on July 4 in team history... The Hot Rods played a regular season on a Monday for the first time since 2019... Monday's win was the fifth walk-off win of the season for the Hot Rods... Ronny Simon has been involved in the final play of three of those wins... Infante hit his 10th homer of the season... He is the second player in BG to reach double-digit homers this year... Wiles set a new career-high with 5.0 innings pitched... He also tied a career-high with six strikeouts... Manzardo has a 25-game on-base streak... It's tied for the seventh-longest in team history...
We Meet Again... Bowing Green starts off their second-half home schedule the same way they ended the first half, with the second place Hickory Crawdads. Hickory enters the series three games behind Bowling Green in second place. BG is 8-4 against the Crawdads this season, with a series split in June and a 5-1 series victory in Hickory back in April.
Can't Keep him off the Bases... Kyle Manzardo reached base in every game he played in the month of June, giving him the second-longest active on-base streak in the South Atlantic League at 25. It is the longest streak by any Hot Rods player this season, and the sixth-longest overall in the SAL. Manzardo is 26-90 in this stretch, slashing .289/.420/.478 with five doubles and four home runs. He has also driven in 20 runs and walked 20 times.
Clinched... BG finished the first half leading their division for the third time in club history, clinching a playoff spot with 2018's Midwest League Champions and again in 2011. (there were no halves in 2021). The 2011 team finished the first leg of the season with a 41-29 record while the 2018 Hot Rods set a franchise record with 47 wins in the first half and a record of 47-22. The 2022 club became the third Hot Rods team to the 40-win mark in a half.
Prepared for the Postseason... The 2022 Playoff structure looks a little different than last season's "High-A East" setup. The season is split into two halves, with the first-half ending after games on June 23. Each division's team with the best record will earn a berth, with the divisional first and second half champions facing one another in a three-game series in the postseason. The winners of those series will be crowned division champions, with the two remaining teams set to face one another in a three-game championship series. The Hot Rods clinched a playoff spot after winning the South Division in the first half. They will be joined by the first half North Division Winners in the Aberdeen IronBirds.
Simon Says Mash... Ronny Simon had a stellar week in Asheville, earning Player of the Week honors for Week 13 of the season. He hit .458 with three homers and 10 RBI against the Tourists. Simon started off the Hickory Homestand on a good note as well, after being party to a third Hot Rods walkoff. With one out in the ninth, Simon sent a grounder that skipped under the glove of Crawdads shortstop Chris Seise that allowed the winning run to score from second. Ronny scored the winning run in the Hot Rods' first walkoff win against Rome in April, and then drove in the winning run on an RBI triple against Jersey Shore one month later.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 6, 2022
- Braves Rally, Controversy, Spoils Special Comeback - Asheville Tourists
- Zwack'Ing Dead Nick Extends Scoreless Streak to 24.0 Innings in BKLYN Win - Brooklyn Cyclones
- Hot Rods Shut Out Crawdads for Third-Straight Win - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- 'Hogs Claw out of Early Deficit, But Lose 7-5 in 10 - Winston-Salem Dash
- Greenville Suffers Loss to Greensboro - Greenville Drive
- Hoppers Win Second Straight to Move Back over .500 - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Hot Rods Game Notes - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Renegades Pull Clear Late, Steal 11, Top Claws 9-2 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Hudson Valley Wins 9-3 Over Jersey Shore - Hudson Valley Renegades
- HVR Game Notes - July 6, 2022 - Hudson Valley Renegades
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.
