Hot Rods Peel Off 5 Runs in 9th to Take Series Opener

May 5, 2014 - Midwest League (MWL1)
South Bend Silver Hawks News Release


A sloppy affair that featured six errors and five unearned runs resulted in a 9-4 win for the Bowling Green Hot Rods (13-17) over the South Bend Silver Hawks (17-14) at Four Winds Field on Monday night. A two-out fielding error by shortstop Andrew Velazquez allowed the winning run to score in the top of the ninth and opened the door to a five-run inning for the Hot Rods.

Bowling Green, the Class-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, got on the board first against Hawks starter Braden Shipley. Left fielder Granden Goetzman led off the second inning with an infield single that fell between the shortstop and second baseman. With one out, first baseman Darryl George blooped a single into right field that advanced Goetzman to second. Third baseman Pat Blair walked to load the bases. Right fielder Ariel Soriano hit a grounder to the shortstop that could have been an inning-ending double play but Andrew Velazquez couldn't get a clean handle on the ball. Velazquez could only get the out at first, allowing Goetzman to score and giving the Hot Rods a 1-0 lead. Bowling Green shortstop Juniel Querecuto followed with a two-out, two-run single up the middle that put the Hot Rods up 3-0.

The Hawks pulled a run back in the bottom of the third inning against Jordan Harrison. Center fielder Breland Almadova led off the inning by beating out an infield single to shortstop. With one out, Almadova stole second and then scored on second baseman's Jamie Westbrook's fly ball single to right to cut the lead to 3-1.

South Bend, the Class-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Catcher Michael Perez led off the inning by grounding a single through the right side. Right fielder Zach Esquerra walked to put runners at first and second with nobody out. On a pitch to Almadova, Perez got hung up between second and third but the throw to second by the Hot Rods catcher went into center field, scoring Perez and advancing Esquerra to second. Almadova then dunked a single into center, putting runners at the corners. Almadova was caught stealing second for the second out of the inning. The Hot Rods should have been out of the inning with the lead but Velazquez's grounder was booted by Querecuto at shortstop, allowing Esquerra to score and tie the game at 3. Stone Speer (W, 2-0) entered the game in relief of Harrison and got out of the inning without allowing any further runs.

The Hot Rods bounced back immediately with a run in the top of the sixth. Shipley retired the first two batters in order before plunking designated hitter Oscar Hernandez with a pitch. A wild pitch moved Hernandez to second. George than hit a fly ball down the right field line that was just out of the diving reach of Esquerra for an RBI triple and a 4-3 Bowling Green lead.

Silvino Bracho entered the game in the seventh in relief of Shipley and along with Daniel Gibson, kept the Hot Rods off the board for two innings, long enough for the Hawks to scratch out a run off of Speer and tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. Velazquez led off the inning with an infield single to second. Westbrook executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Velazquez to second. A wild pitch moved him to third with one out but Speer struck out third baseman Joe Munoz for the second out of the inning. Speer appeared to be out of the inning but the Hot Rods defense let them down again as second baseman Kean Wong could not field a grounder by Daniel Palka cleanly and Velazquez scored to tie the game on Bowling Green's fourth error of the game.

The Hawks turned to J.R. Bradley (L, 1-1) in the ninth to keep the score tied but this time it was the Hawks defense that made the critical error. With one out, Soriano walked and Querecuto grounded out, moving Soriano to second. Wong hit a chopper up the middle that Westbrook fielded but had no play, putting runners at the corners with two outs. First baseman Johnny Field hit a grounder in the shortstop hole that Velazquez was unable to field cleanly and Soriano crossed the plate with the go-ahead run. The wheels fell off a bit after that as two straight singles followed, scoring two insurance runs for the Hot Rods, stretching their lead to 7-4. Hernandez then launched a two run triple to deep right center, making it a five-run Bowling Green advantage.

The Hawks and Hot Rods meet up again on Tuesday night at 7:05pm. Jake Faria (1-1, 1.98 ERA) takes the hill for the Hot Rods while Blake Perry (1-1, 4.23 ERA) gets the ball for the Hawks. It is Triple Play Tuesday at Four Winds Field so get a ticket, hot dog, and a drink for just $10.



Midwest League Stories from May 5, 2014


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