Nowicki Walks Off As Baysox Earn Split
May 16, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release
BOWIE, Md. - The Baysox and SeaWolves packed nine home runs into 14 innings of action and split a twin bill Friday night at Prince George's Stadium. Four home runs led the SeaWolves to victory in game one, but a walk-off blast by right fielder Joe Nowicki gave the Baysox a win in the nightcap.
In game one, right-hander John Mariotti took the bump for the Baysox in search of his first win in double-A. The Baysox offense struck first, taking a two-run lead in the first inning behind RBI singles by first baseman Brandon Snyder and second baseman Miguel Abreu.
Mariotti began to struggle in the third inning, as Santo De Leon and Joe Tucker singled to start the inning. Scott Sizemore singled home De Leon, and stole second one batter later to put runners at second and third with one out. Mariotti uncorked a wild pitch, and Tucker came across with the tying run to make it 2-2.
The SeaWolves would blow the game wide open in the fifth, putting up six runs led by a grand slam by catcher Alex Avila. Mariotti allowed one run to cross before loading the bases for Avila. The Baysox brought in left-hander Chad Thall to face the left-handed Avila, who took the first pitch from Thall over the wall in right to make it 7-2. Cale Iorg tacked on one more with a solo blast later in the inning, putting the SeaWolves up six.
The Baysox put up a three spot in the fifth behind a solo shot by catcher Guillermo Rodriguez and a two-run blast from Snyder. Erie responded by tallying three in the sixth and one in the seventh to close out a 12-5 win.
Game two saw a battle of the bullpens as Baysox reliever Ryan Keefer took the mound for his second start of the season against Erie lefty Ramon Garcia. Keefer allowed a first inning homer by Brennan Boesch before Snyder tied it in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single. Erie tacked on a single run in the second behind an RBI single by Shawn Roof to make the score 2-1 after two.
Normally a reliever, Keefer has been called upon to make spot starts in each of his last two appearances. A crafty veteran, Keefer does not mind changing his approach to better suit his team.
"I'm a lot more nervous," joked Keefer of his pre-game approach. "You just try to throw strikes and pound the zone."
The Baysox looked to get back in it by using small ball in the fifth, but an Erie miscue gave them more than they were asking for. Second baseman Miguel Abreu was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and was replaced by Melvin Dorta. Adam Donachie followed with a single, setting up a sacrifice opportunity for Nowicki. He pushed a bunt towards the third base side, but Garcia fired the ball down the left field line allowing both runners to score and putting the Baysox up 3-2.
The Baysox looked as though they would not need late inning heroics, taking the one run lead into the seventh as Wilfrido Perez came on looking for his seventh save. The southpaw got the first two Erie hitters to go down swinging before allowing a two out walk to SeaWolves leadoff man Scott Sizemore. Reigning Eastern League Player of the Month Maxwell Leon worked the count full before hitting a two-run homer to put Erie on top by one. The two earned runs were Perez's first runs allowed this season, breaking a string of 15.1 scoreless innings on the season.
Before the fans at Prince George's Stadium got to watch a Friday night fireworks display, Nowicki had some fireworks of his own to share with the raucous crowd of 6,788 fans. With one out and a man on first in the ninth, Nowicki stepped to the plate against SeaWolves closer Brett Jensen. The Baysox outfielder wasted little time, crushing the first pitch he saw from Jensen deep into the night as the Baysox walked off with a 5-4 win.
"First walk-off ever, it felt good," said Nowicki.
The win was the Baysox first of the season when trailing heading into their final at bat, getting Perez off the hook as they move to 15-18 on the season.
The two teams will go at it again tomorrow night at Prince George's Stadium, as RHP Jake Arrieta (3-1, 3.42 ERA) takes on LHP Jon Kibler (1-2, 4.60 ERA). Game time is set for 7:05 with a fireworks display after the game.
The Baysox 17th season as the class AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles is underway! 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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