EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Late Inning Fireworks Propel Bowie

Published on July 3, 2009 under Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


BOWIE, Md. - Third baseman Mike Costanzo came through with a go-ahead single in the bottom of the eighth as the Baysox brought home a 3-2 victory in front of 9,250 fans at Prince George's Stadium. The Akron defense turned the first triple play in Bowie in almost nine years, but the late surge was too much for the first-place Aeros to overcome. Center fielder Dave Krynzel had three hits and right fielder Ambiorix Concepcion had two doubles as the Baysox took three out of five games against Akron during the series. With the win, they improve to 45-36 on the season and 7.5 games back in the Southern Division.

"You have to win games and win series and that's what we did," Baysox manager Brad Komminsk said. "It was a great series from both teams and we had close games every night."

For the fourth consecutive game, the Bowie offense jumped out to an early lead. Krynzel singled with one out in the second inning against Aeros starter Josh Tomlin. Concepcion followed with a double to left which put runners at second and third for catcher Guillermo Rodriguez. The Baysox backstop grounded out to bring the first run across and designated hitter Danny Figueroa brought home Concepcion with a double to make the score 2-0. The two-base hit by Figueroa snapped a 4-for-37 slump and brought home his ninth RBI of the season.

The Aeros answered right back in the top of the third inning against right-hander Tim Bascom. Carlos Rivero drew a free pass to start the inning and Jared Goedert followed with a single to put men at first and second with nobody out. One batter later, Jose Constanza blooped a single down the left-field line as Rivero looked to score from second. Left fielder Jonathan Tucker fired a frozen rope to Rodriguez to nail the runner at the plate for the second out of the inning. Cristo Arnal followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit in half. After Bascom plunked Nicholas Weglarz with a pitch, the right-hander walked Carlos Santana to force home a run and tie the score at two.

"I didn't really have command of any of my pitches," Bascom said. "I battled and kept my team in the game and that's all I can really ask for."

Bascom settled down after the third inning, keeping Akron off the board and keeping the game tied at two apiece. The right-hander left after 6.0 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits while walking three and striking out two. Although Bascom felt it was not his best outing, he was happy to be out there in a big game pitching in front of a raucous crowd at Prince George's Stadium.

"It's always great to play at home with a big crowd," Bascom said. "Everybody in the clubhouse is in there hooting and hollering and hopefully we can carry this the rest of the year."

The Baysox offense threatened to break the tie in the bottom of the fourth inning. Concepcion doubled to start the inning and Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Figueroa attempted to sacrifice the runners over with a bunt, but Tomlin caught the ball in the air and doubled up Concepcion at second. The shortstop tossed it over to first and tripled off Rodriguez to complete the first triple play at Prince George's Stadium since Norwich did it on July 22, 2000.

James Hoey came on for Bascom to start the seventh inning, tossing two shutout innings while striking out two. In 10.1 innings since returning from the disabled list on June 14, Hoey has allowed one earned run while walking two and striking out ten. It has been a long road to recovery for Hoey, who missed all of last season after shoulder surgery and missed a month with a setback this season, but the Trenton, N.J. native says he is feeling like his old self again.

"The hardest part of this game is being 100 percent healthy every time," Hoey said. "I did a ton of work on the DL stint and now I'm back to being able to pitch in and out and work my counts."

The Baysox broke through in the bottom of the eighth inning, as shortstop Robert Valido singled off Tomlin to start the inning. Left-hander Matt Meyer came out of the bullpen to face first baseman Eric Crozier, who layed down a sacrifice bunt for the first out of the inning. Costanzo stepped to the plate and smashed a Meyer offering up the middle for a go-ahead RBI single. After struggling this season, Costanzo is finding a groove in the middle of the Baysox order, hitting safely in 17 of his last 20 games.

"I just went up there to grind it out like I have been the last few weeks," Costanzo said. "These games are huge for us and right now we're playing good baseball and we need to take advantage of it."

With a one-run lead, Josh Perrault came on to shut the door. The right-hander did not disappoint, setting the Aeros down in order to earn his 15th save of the season. An Eastern League All-Star, Perrault has been a consistent force in the back-end of the Baysox bullpen this season. In 34 games this season, he has stuck out 40 and walked only nine in 39.0 innings of work.

The Baysox travel to Altoona tomorrow to begin a three-game set with the Curve. RHP Ryohei Tanaka (0-0, 0.00) makes his first appearance as a starter after eight scoreless outings out of the bullpen. He will be matched up against RHP Derek Hankins (0-2, 5.82) for the Curve. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m.

The Baysox return home July 7 to take on the Harrisburg Senators on Penny Pincher Bargain Night. The first 500 fans who purchase regularly priced lower reserve seat tickets will receive a free Matt Wieters t-shirt! The Baysox 17th season as the class AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles is going strong! Check out www.baysox.com to see all that's going on at the stadium this year, and don't miss a moment of the action as the Baysox attempt to bring home their first Eastern League championship. Individual game tickets and ticket packages are available now at www.baysox.com or by calling the Baysox box office at (301) 464-4865.

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Eastern League Stories from July 3, 2009


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