Hot Rods' Ninth Inning Rally Falls Short in 7-4 Loss to South Bend
April 10, 2015 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
South Bend, Ind. - Bowling Green scored a pair of two-out runs in the ninth but left the tying run at the plate in a 7-4 loss to South Bench at Four Winds Field Friday night.
Trailing 7-2 entering the ninth, Casey Gillaspie led off with a walk for Bowling Green (0-2) and took second on Justin Williams' single. After a fielder's choice and a strikeout, Jace Conrad and Cristian Toribio hit back-to-back RBI singles to trim the deficit to 7-4, but Tommy Thorpe fanned Thomas Milone to end the game and clinch the series for the Cubs (2-0). Hot Rods starter Greg Harris and South Bend starter Jeremy Null traded zeroes until the bottom of the third, when the Cubs struck for three runs to snag a 3-0 lead.
It all started when Jesse Hodges reached on a single, and advanced to second base on a balk. Rashad Crawford singled Hodges to third base, and Trey Martin hit a pitch off the heel of Toribio's glove at shortstop to score Hodges. Chesny Young then singled Crawford home and came home later in the inning on a Gioskar Amaya groundout. Harris (0-1) was efficient outside of that third inning going five full innings of four-hit ball, allowing three runs (one earned) and striking out six while not walking a batter.
Bowling Green, though, never quite figured out Null (1-0), who tossed five brilliant innings and allowed just two hits, while striking out seven and not issuing a walk.
However, the Hot Rods inched to within 3-2 in the sixth after a pair of two-out RBI singles from Riley Unroe and Grant Kay off Cubs reliever Jasvir Rakkar.
It was a brief moment of hope on an otherwise difficult evening for Bowling Green, as the Cubs scored two runs in the bottom half after Amaya reached on an error and came plateward on Cael Brockmeyer's double to right-centerfield. Brockmeyer then scored on a double-play groundout to extend the lead to 5-2.
South Bend's bottom of the seventh saw two more runs score aided by a dropped fly ball in the outfield. Trey Martin's two-run single through the center of a drawn-in infield made for a 7-2 Cubs lead.
Both teams finished with 10 base hits, as Martin drove home a game-high three runs for the Cubs, while Williams, Conrad and Toribio all registered two hits for the Hot Rods.
This series concludes on Saturday at 6:05 CT, when Hot Rods righty Hyrum Formo (0-0, 0.00) toes the rubber to match up against South Bend right-hander Erick Leal (0-0, 0.00).
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