MWL1 Bowling Green Hot Rods

Hot Rods Sweep Dayton With Ninth-Inning Rally

Published on July 30, 2010 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release


Dayton, OH - Dustin Biell and Ty Morrison delivered infield singles in the top of the ninth inning on Friday night, lifting the Hot Rods past the Dayton Dragons 9-7. The back-and-forth affair earned the Hot Rods a three-game sweep and leaves them one game under .500 in the second half heading into an important seven-game home stand beginning Saturday night.

Dayton took an early lead against the Hot Rods and Jason McEachern, plating a run in the first and two more in the second to build a 3-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Hot Rods had no problem putting runners on base, but they couldn't push a run across, stranding six in the first three innings against Dragons starter Blair Carson.

In the fourth, however, they finally cracked the goose egg. Bennett Davis began their rally with a one-out single into center field. Ty Morrison followed with a double to right to put runners at second and third. That brought up Cody Rogers, who nearly had another home run, but settled for a two-run triple to cut the deficit to 3-2. Robi Estrada quickly followed with a sacrifice fly to left to score Rogers and tie the game at 3-3.

An inning later, the Hot Rods added to their lead. Mark Thomas dropped a single into right field to begin the frame. A few pitchers later he took off for second base and Gabe Cohen pulled a double down the left field line, scoring Thomas for a 4-3 lead.

Dayton answered in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run by Josh Garton to tie it up at 4-4. But Bowling Green would not be denied, re-taking the lead in the sixth with a single and a steal from Rogers, a sacrifice bunt from Estrada, and a sacrifice fly from Bortnick to put the Hot Rods back on top 5-4.

McEachern left the game after five innings in line for the victory. The righty allowed four runs on five hits, three walks, and two hit batters. He added three strikeouts and gave up another home run, his 14th in his last six starts.

Bowling Green added to the lead for McEachern in the seventh. Cohen drew a one-out walk and then advanced to second two batters later on Davis' third hit of the game. After a passed ball, Morrison delivered a base hit to right field, plating both runners for a 7-4 Hot Rods lead.

Yorman Mayora made his Hot Rods debut in relief of Mceachern in the sixth, retiring the side in order. In the seventh, he wouldn't fare as well. With one out, Henry Rodriguez reached on an error by Robi Estrada. That was followed by a single from Josh Garton and then a three-run homer from Satterwhite to knot the game at 7-all.

It stayed 7-7 into the ninth before the Hot Rods struck for their game-winning rally. Mark Thomas and Cohen drew walks to begin the inning against Junior Martinez. Tzu-Kai Chiu entered the game for the Dragons at that point to face Dustin Biell. Biell intended to bunt but the Hot Rods pulled off a double steal to put runners at second and third. That allowed Biell to dribble a single up the middle to plate Thomas for a 1-0 lead. After a foul out from Davis, Morrison dropped a bunt single down the first base line to plate Cohen for the insurance run in a 9-7 game.

Jake Sullivan earned the win for Bowling Green as the Hot Rods have now won eight straight in Dayton. He threw the final two innings without incident. The lefty is now 3-1, picking up three strikeouts in the victory.

As a team, the Hot Rods had 15 hits, their highest total since they had 19 in Fort Wayne on July 4. Davis and Morrison each had three hits while Bortnick, Biell and Rogers each had a pair. The Hot Rods also drew six walks with two sac flies and two sac bunts.

For the series, the Hot Rods pounded out 20 runs on 38 hits in the three-game sweep. Morrison finished with six hits and five RBI in the series. Bortnick added six hits, Davis picked up five, and Cohen had four hits and reached base a total of seven times.

The Hot Rods now come home to begin a seven-game home stand on Saturday night against the Lansing Lugnuts (Toronto Blue Jays) and the South Bend Silver Hawks (Arizona Diamondbacks). Saturday night is Agriculture Night presented by H&R Agri-Power. The first 1,000 fans will receive a Farmer Axle Bobblehead. Gates open at 5:30 PM for Season Ticket holders and 6 PM for the general public. First pitch is at 7:05 PM. For tickets and a complete list of promotions for the upcoming home stand, visit www.bghotrods.com.

The pitching match-up Saturday night features RHP Kirby Yates (2-5, 2.93) for the Hot Rods against Lansing RHP Matt Fields (2-6, 3.90). You can listen to the game with Tom Gauthier and Hank Fuerst beginning at 6:50 PM on 1340 WBGN and www.bghotrods.com.

Check out the Bowling Green Hot Rods Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from July 30, 2010


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.

OurSports Central