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EL1 Chesapeake Baysox

Wild Night Ends In Defeat For Baysox

July 29, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Chesapeake Baysox News Release


BOWIE, Md. - A wild night in Bowie ended in defeat for the Baysox, falling to Connecticut 13-12 in 11 innings Tuesday night. The two teams combined for 42 hits off of 14 pitchers, but the Baysox committed six errors that were the difference on an epic night under the lights at Prince George's Stadium. The Baysox tied the game in the ninth and tenth innings, but a two-run homer by Eddy Martinez-Esteve was enough to propel the Defenders to victory.

"When you make six errors over the course of the game it should have never even gotten to that point," Baysox manager Brad Komminsk said. "But you've got to give the team credit for coming back and scoring runs."

After Connecticut opened up the scoring with a sacrifice fly by Mike Mooney in the top of the second inning, the Baysox responded with three runs in the bottom half of the frame. Catcher Steve Torrealba blasted a two-run homer to left with nobody out to take a 2-1 lead. Left fielder Jonathan Tucker singled with two outs, advancing to second when Bumgarner threw a pitch behind center fielder Danny Figueroa. Bumgarner was ejected on the play, as left-hander Ben Snyder came on as his replacement. Figueroa lined a shot that deflected off of Snyder's head, scoring Tucker and giving Bowie a 3-1 lead. Snyder had to leave the game but walked off under his own power.

Connecticut answered with a run in the third inning, as Mike McBryde lifted a sacrifice fly to make the score 3-2. The Baysox came right back in the bottom half of the third, scoring four runs to jump out to a 7-2 lead. Shortstop Robert Valido, designated hitter Kraig Binick and Tucker all had RBI singles for the Baysox in the inning. Danny Figueroa lifted a sacrifice fly to finish off the scoring, as the two teams had combined for nine runs, 19 hits and pitchers used after only three innings of action.

Connecticut scored three runs in the top of the fourth inning against Baysox starter Radhames Liz to cut the lead to 7-5. After allowing the first two men to reach, Liz allowed an RBI double to Brad Boyer. Brett Pill brought home another run with a sacrifice fly to right, as Boyer tagged up and moved to third. Adam Witter followed with a slow chopper to third, but Miguel Abreu could not handle it and another run crossed the plate.

The score remained the same until the seventh inning, as Connecticut struck for three runs off Baysox right-hander Ryan Ouellette to take an 8-7 lead. McBryde started the inning with a double to left field and Brandon Crawford laid down a bunt to move him to second. Abreu fired wildly to first on the play, allowing the run to score and Crawford to advance to second. An RBI single by Mike Mooney brought home another run, tying the game at seven. After Williams drew a free pass, Brock Bond followed with a double into left-center field, plating Mooney for the go-ahead run. The Eastern League's leading hitter with a .357 average, Bond reached base in eight of his first nine plate appearances to start the series against the Baysox.

Connecticut tacked on another unearned run in the eighth against left-hander Chad Thall. McBryde reached on a throwing error by Abreu to start the inning, later scoring on a ground-rule double by Crawford. Despite going 3-for-6 at the plate, Abreu committed a career-high four errors in the field.

Danny Figueroa added a run for the Baysox in the bottom of the eighth with his second home run of the season, a solo shot off left-hander Matt Yourkin. The Baysox outfielder went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI on the night, raising his average since the All-Star break to a staggering .513.

Down 9-8 heading into the ninth inning, Bowie mounted a rally against Yourkin. Abreu led off the inning with a ground-rule double to left field, moving to third on a bunt single by second baseman Paco Figueroa. A walk to Torrealba loaded the bases, and Valido grounded into a double play to push the tying run across. With the winning run on third and two outs, Yourkin induced Binick to ground out, giving the fans in Bowie bonus baseball.

Connecticut wasted little time in the extra frame, adding two runs in the tenth inning against Baysox right-hander John Mariotti. With runners on second and third and one out, Mike Mooney tapped a ball back to the mound. Mariotti fielded it and flipped it home, but Torrealba could not handle the throw as the go-ahead run crossed the plate. Williams followed with a sacrifice bunt to score another run, putting Connecticut up 11-9.

Connecticut right-hander Shane Kauffman came on looking for his first save of the season, but the Baysox would not go down without a fight. Tucker singled up the middle to start the inning, bringing the tying run to the plate with nobody out. One batter later, Crozier stepped to the plate and crushed a Kauffman offering deep into the night for a two-run game-tying homer. The blast was his sixth of the season, and kept the Baysox alive as they tried to scrape out a win.

"I was just happy to find a hole," Crozier said of the blast. "He gave me a fastball right there after he just blew one by me and I was fortunate to put a good swing on it."

The magic ended in the 11th as Martinez-Esteve connected for his fifth home run of the season off Mariotti, putting Connecticut back on top 13-11.

Having used all six of his available relievers, Connecticut skipper Steve Decker brought on infielder Ramon Castro for the save. The right-hander allowed an RBI single to Tucker, and hit Danny Figueroa with a pitch to put the go-ahead run at first base for Crozier with two outs. Castro grooved a fastball up in the zone, but Crozier just got under the pitch, flying out to right field to end the game after four hours and 27 minutes.

Tucker said that despite taking the loss, he was proud of his team for their determination and effort on the field. The left-fielder set a career-high with five hits, reaching base six-times to set a new high for a Baysox player this season. Although the team did not play it's best game, he said the character they showed in the late innings is something he hopes will carry them in the Southern Division playoff chase.

"It was really a gut check for us, we didn't give in and battled to the last out," Tucker said. "You can fold, but we didn't fold and stuck through it."

The two teams will rest up and do battle again tomorrow night. RHP Ryohei Tanaka (0-1, 1.64 ERA) takes the hill for the Baysox against RHP Tim Alderson (6-1, 3.47 ERA) for the Defenders. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m.

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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