Vasquez Collects Three-Hit Night, Hot Rods Drops Series Finale 6-5
Published on July 3, 2023 under South Atlantic League (SAL)
Bowling Green Hot Rods News Release
Rome, Georgia - Willy Vasquez recorded three of the Bowling Green Hot Rods (5-4, 36-34) 10 hits during a 6-5 loss to the Rome Braves (4-5, 34-41) on Monday night at AdventHealth Stadium.
The Rome offense exploded from the jump, plating four runs in the bottom of the first off Bowling Green starter Roel Garcia. Kevin Kilpatrick and Ignacio Alvarez led-off with back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second. Kilpatrick scored and Alvarez moved up to third on an RBI double by Drake Baldwin, putting the Braves up 1-0. David McCabe doubled, plating Alvarez and Baldwin to increase the lead to 3-0. Rome took a 4-0 lead when Geraldo Quintero tripled in McCabe.
Bowling Green got on the board in the top of the second against Rome starter Rolddy Munoz. Kameron James walked, and Blake Robertson singled to put runners on first and third. Jalen Battles and Brock Jones notched back-to-back singles, scoring a combined two runs that cut the deficit to 4-2.
After the Braves scored a run in the fourth and fifth, the Hot Rods answered back with two runs in the top of the sixth against Rome reliever Patrick Halligan. James led-off with a single and moved up to third on a throwing error from the catcher Adam Zebrowski. Battles ran out an infield single to first, scoring James to make it a 6-3 ballgame. Battles tagged up to second on a flyout by Jones and came around to score on an RBI single by Carson Williams to move the score to 6-4.
In the top of the seventh, the Hot Rods scored again off Braves reliever Ben Dum. Vasquez singled, stole second, and moved up to third on a wild pitch. Nick Schnell launched a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Vasquez that cut the lead to one. The Hot Rods offense was shutout in the eighth and ninth, falling by a score of 6-5
Halligan (4-3) earned the win, letting up two runs on four hits, a walk, and five strikeouts over 2.2 frames. Garcia (4-5) took the loss, going 4.0 innings while allowing five runs on seven hits, a walk, and four strikeouts. Jonathan Hughes (3) notched the save, letting up two hits and striking out two over 2.1 scoreless innings.
Bowling Green will begin a six-game series on Tuesday against the Asheville Tourists at Bowling Green Ballpark. First pitch is set for 6:35 PM CT. Fans can catch all the action by watching on MiLB.tv or listening through the MiLB First Pitch App, tuning into Talk 104.1 FM and 930 AM WKCT, or visiting https://www.milb.com/bowling-green/fans/audio-listen-live.
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