Three Home Run Effort Falls Short in 6-5 Series Opening Loss to Baysox
EL Somerset Patriots

Three Home Run Effort Falls Short in 6-5 Series Opening Loss to Baysox

Published on May 19, 2026 under Eastern League (EL)
Somerset Patriots News Release


Jace Avina of the Somerset Patriots runs the bases
Jace Avina of the Somerset Patriots runs the bases
(Somerset Patriots)

The Somerset Patriots dropped the series opener 6-5 to the Chesapeake Baysox at Prince George's Stadium in Bowie, MD on Tuesday night.

With Tyler Hardman's two-run home run in the first inning, Somerset smacked its Double-A leading 13th first inning home run this season. The 13 first inning home runs rank second in Minor League Baseball (SUG - AAA - 14) and are the second-most through 40 games in team history (16 - 2021). The Patriots 39 first inning runs lead the Eastern League, rank second in Double-A and sixth in MiLB.

With three extra base hits in the game, Somerset has an extra base hit in all 40 games this season. Somerset's 40-game XBH streak is tied for the longest in Double-A and tied for the second-longest in MiLB.

Somerset powered its third consecutive three HR game for the first time this season and first time since a franchise record four straight games 7/20/23 - 7/23/23 at Hartford. It marked Somerset's 12th time this season with three homers in a game. The Patriots dropped to 7-5 in games when they hit three-plus homers.

Somerset has hammered multiple homers in four straight games and 17 of its last 23 games. The Patriots' 73 home runs this season lead Double-A and rank third in MiLB. Somerset's 73 home runs in the first 40 games of the season are a Double-A record in the Research Tool Era (since 2005).

Somerset's pitching staff registered 13 strikeouts, notching double-digit punchouts for the 10th time in the last 11 games. Somerset's 11.3 K/9 leads Double-A and ranks sixth in Minor League Baseball (Full Season).

RHP Trent Sellers (4.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 K) struck out three batters in the third inning, escaping a bases loaded jam with back-to-back punchouts. Sellers' 42 strikeouts lead all Patriots this season.

RHP Kelly Austin (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K) registered his fifth consecutive scoreless outing. Across his last five outings, Austin has posted a 0.29 WHIP, .045 BAA, nine strikeouts to one walk in 7.0 scoreless innings. He's dropped his ERA from 6.23 to 3.45 in that stretch.

CF Jace Avina (1-for-2, HR, RBI, BB, HBP) hammered his 12th HR of the season with a solo blast to lead off the sixth inning.

Avina's six home runs to lead off an inning are the most in the Eastern League, are tied for second in Double-A and tied for third in MiLB. His 12 homers this season are second in the Eastern League, third in Double-A and tied for eighth in MiLB.

Avina extended his on-base streak to a season-high 18 games and hit streak to eight games. His active 18-game on-base streak ranks second in the Eastern League and is the second longest by a Patriot this season. During the streak, Avina is slashing .351/.419/.766 with eight HR, 19 RBI and 19 XBH. He's raised his OPS from .629 to .924 in that span.

3B Tyler Hardman (1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) smashed a two-run HR in the first inning for his 11th home run of the season. Hardman now has home runs in consecutive games for a team-high tying fourth time this season. His eight home runs in May lead Double-A and are tied for first in MiLB.

With Hardman's 11 home runs this season, Somerset is the only team in MiLB with three active hitters with 11-plus home runs (Hardman, Avina, Martin).

Hardman's 21 RBI across his last 16 games has raised his RBI total to 35, which leads the Eastern League and ranks second in Double-A. Hardman's 30 RBI are the most ever by a Patriot in the season's first 40 games.

In 12 career games at Prince George's Stadium dating back to 2023, Hardman is hitting .295/.396/.818 with 13 hits, seven HR and 13 RBI.

LF DJ Gladney (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) pummeled his fourth HR of the season with a two-run shot in the seventh inning. Gladney's four home runs this season have all come in the last nine games. In that span, he's raised his OPS from .800 to .894.

2B Duncan Pastore (2-for-4) secured his third multi-hit game of the season with a single in the seventh inning. Pastore extended his hit streak to a season-high four games and on-base streak to a career-high six games with a two-out single in the fifth inning. In the last six games, Pastore is 7-for-18 with four walks, three XBH, two multi-hit games and an RBI.

Check out the Somerset Patriots Statistics

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Jace Avina of the Somerset Patriots runs the bases
Jace Avina of the Somerset Patriots runs the bases
   



Eastern League Stories from May 19, 2026


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