Heston Kjerstad clobbered his eighth home run of the season, but the Bowie Baysox were not able to battle all the way back, as they fell in a back-and-forth affair with the Erie SeaWolves, 7-4.
Erie struck first, as they have in the three previous games of the series. The SeaWolves scored a pair of runs in the top of the third, as Diego Rincones led off the frame with a solo home run to dead center field off Baysox left-hander Cade Povich. Luis Santana followed the homer with a single, he would advance on a fielder’s choice, before making it to third on the error, and scoring on a groundout to double Erie’s lead.
Kjerstad’s home run came in lead-off fashion in the bottom of the fourth, when he drilled the first pitch he saw to left center field to cut the SeaWolves lead to 2-1. However, Erie would bounce back in the top of the fifth, plating a pair of runs on five hits, with Colt Keith and Julio Rodriguez picking up RBIs, stretching Erie’s lead to 4-1.
Once again, the Baysox displayed resilience, as Bowie loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth. Donta’ Williams would ground into a force out at home for the second out of the frame, before Billy Cook punched a two-run single into left field. Once again, the SeaWolves’ lead was cut down to a run at 4-3.
However, Bowie would get no closer, as Erie plated three runs in the top of the seventh. Rehabbing right-hander Dillon Tate allowed a one-out double to Keith, that was followed by a Wenceel Perez RBI single. Then, after a walk, Tate was lifted for right-hander Conner Loeprich. The second arm of the inning for the Baysox would walk two and allow a hit in the frame before notching the final two outs, allowing both inherited runners to score on RBIs from Trei Cruz and Ben Malgeri.
Trailing 7-3 entering the eighth, Bowie tried to launch one last rally after a Cesar Prieto walk preceded a Ramon Rodriguez double – the third hit of the night for Rodriguez, putting two in scoring position with one out with Williams coming to the plate. Williams was able to pick up an RBI on a sharp grounder to first base, but the Baysox would do no further damage against an Erie bullpen that was able to hold on, as Angel De Jesus recorded the final five outs of the game to pick up the save.
The loss drops Bowie’s record to 7-16 on the season. The Baysox will continue their series with the SeaWolves on Saturday night, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. ET from Prince George’s Stadium.
