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Hot Rods Lap Hawks in Fast and Furious Sixth Inning

August 27, 2014 - Midwest League (MWL1)
South Bend Silver Hawks News Release


One tough inning was the downfall of the South Bend Silver Hawks (78-56) Wednesday night at Four Winds Field. The Hawks gave up five runs in the sixth inning on the way to a 6-2 loss to the Bowling Green Hot Rods (61-72). Things looked encouraging early for the home team, after putting up two runs in the first inning, but they never found their way to home plate after the opening frame.

The South Bend Silver Hawks, Class-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first. Shortstop Andrew Velazquez led off with a single to center. Another single to center by left fielder Chuck Taylor pushed Velazquez to second. Bowling Green starter Jake Faria then issued a walk to designated hitter Michael Perez to load the bases with no outs. Third baseman Joe Munoz put the Hawks in front by lofting a ball to deep center to allow Velazquez to score on the sacrifice and Taylor to move up to third. Right fielder Justin Williams followed with a ground ball to third. Douglas Duran fielded the ball at third and fired to second in attempt to turn the double play. While Perez was out at second on the fielder's choice, Williams beat the throw to first to keep the inning alive and allow Taylor to score for a 2-0 Hawks lead.

The Bowling Green Hot Rods, Class-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, notched a single run in the top of the second. First baseman Alexander Simon started the frame with an infield single off Hawks starter Sean Furney's glove. Right fielder Elias Torres followed with a double into the left field corner to move Simon to third. Then during catcher Armando Araiza's at-bat, a wild pitch by Furney scored Simon to bring the Hot Rods within 2-1.

Sean Furney (L, 8-8) pitched masterfully until the top of the sixth when the Hot Rods found an extra gear. Designated hitter Willy Adames started the inning with an infield single deep into the hole at short. Velazquez was able to field the ball, but his off balance throw across the diamond to first was tardy. During second baseman Kean Wong's at-bat, Adames swiped second to move into scoring position. Wong then connected on a single to left to score Adames from second and knot the score at 2-2. A strong throw from Taylor in left gunned Wong down at second as he tried to stretch a double. Shortstop Pat Blair then grounded a ball towards the hole at short. Velazquez fielded the ball and threw across his body on the run, but his throw was high and wide of Marty Herum at first allowing Blair to reach on the E-6 throwing. Simon took advantage of the opportunity by launching the first pitch he saw from Furney over the fence in right to put the Hot Rods in front 4-2. The rally continued as Torres singled to shallow left and then moved up to third on left fielder James Harris' double down the left field line. Araiza padded the Bowling Green lead with a bouncing ball back up the middle to plate both Torres and Harris. That brought Furney's night to a close after 5 1/3 innings of work where he surrendered six runs, five earned on ten hits.

Alex Byo entered in relief of Furney and kept the Hot Rods parked, as he faced the minimum over the next 2 2/3 innings. Byo struck out three while not giving up any walks or hits. However, Bowling Green reliever Stone Speer (W, 6-2) refused to let the Hawks mount a comeback. Speer tossed four innings of relief, only giving up one hit while striking out four Silver Hawks. South Bend looked to have a rally brewing in the bottom of the ninth against Hot Rods reliever William Gabay. Williams led off the inning with a double to the left field corner. With one out, Herum pushed Williams to third with his single up the middle into center. The Hawks would not get any closer as Gabay induced back-to-back fly outs to catcher Grant Nelson and center fielder Fidel Pena to secure the Hot Rods 6-2 victory.

In the race for the best overall record in the Eastern Division of the Midwest League, the Hawks remain 1.5 games behind the West Michigan Whitecaps, Class-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. West Michigan also lost on Wednesday, 2-1 to the Fort Wayne TinCaps, Class-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. Home field advantage in the second round of the Midwest League Playoffs is determined by best overall record for the full season.

The Silver Hawks and Hot Rods meet again Thursday night at Four Winds Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Righty Ryan Doran (3-0, 3.33 ERA) is scheduled to start for South Bend and lefty Bruedlin Suero (5-3, 4.03 ERA) gets the ball for Bowling Green.

Silver Hawks Calendar Giveaway week continues. The first 1000 fans through the gate will receive a free 2014-2015 Silver Hawks Calendar, featuring Mr. May 2015 Andrew Velazquez. It's also Thirst Thursday! Enjoy 22 ounce sodas and 16 ounce beers for $2.00 each all night long! Thirsty Thursday is presented by Budweiser, Pepsi and 103.9 The Bear.

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