The Flying Squirrels (11-15) split a pair of games with Bowie (14-14) on Friday night at The Diamond. Richmond took home the opener, 7-2 while Bowie ran away with the nightcap, 12-2.
Sam Coonrod earned his first win of the season by working five innings in the first contest. Chris Shaw backed Coonrod with his fourth home run of the year in the win. The series continues on Saturday with Superblast fireworks presented by Floor & Décor. A full rundown of the Flying Squirrels promotional schedule can be found here.
Game One
Richmond righty Sam Coonrod squared off against Bowie LHP John Means in game one of the twin bill. Coonrod, facing Bowie for the first time this year, pitched around a pair of singles in the first inning by inducing double play ball to third abse. Means –pitching against Richmond for the third time already this season – also benefitted from a twin killing to keep the game scoreless through one inning.
Richmond struck first with a run in the second inning, scoring on Means for the first time in 11 innings. Chris Shaw walloped a solo home run over the right field wall to open the inning for a 1-0 Richmond lead. It was the fourth home run of the year for Shaw and his first againstleft-handed pitching.
Austin Wynns and the Baysox responded immediately to tie the game with a run off of Coonrod in the third. Sean Coyle doubled to begin the inning and advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt. Coonrod then walked the next hitter and with two outs, Wynns delivered a base hit to center to tie the game, 1-1.
The Baysox scratched another run off Coonrod to grab a brief 2-1 advantage. Adrian Marin singled home Jay Gonzalez to provide the run. Coonrod then hit the next batter and walked Aderlin Rodriguez to load the bases. The righty buckled down to get the final batter Garabez Rosa and end his evening.
Richmond returned fire with a three-run bottom of the fifth and a 4-2 lead. Tyler Horan and Jeff Arnold contributed consecutive doubles to tie the game at 2-2. Slade Heathcott then lofted a soft fly to shallow left field to plate Arnold and Ali Castillo followed suite to put Coonrod in position to earn the win. Coonrod (1-2) allowed the two runs on six hits over five innings of work. He used 94 pitches and struck out one in his first win of the year.
The Squirrels pulled away with three more runs in the sixth and Christian Jones earned his first save of the year by striking out five batters over two scoreless innings.
Game Two
The Squirrels fell behind quickly in the nightcap as Matt Lujan battled his control early in the contests. D.J. Steward ripped a double to open the contest and Adrian Marin worked a walk to place a pair of runners on base. Lujan then buckled down and punched out the next two batters to reach Garabez Rosa. Rosa lifted a base hit into the outfield to plate Stewart and Yermin Mercedes reached on an infield single to make it a 2-0 contest. Rosa was thrown out trying to score on the play to end the inning.Lujan used 27 pitches to get the first three outs of the contest.
The Squirrels trimmed the deficit in half with a run in the bottom of the inning. Carlos Garcia led off the frame with a base hit and reached scoring position with a steal of second base. Miguel Gomez then brought home Garcia with a double to the gap. Garcia had three hits in the defeat.
Lujan was faced with a rising pitch count through the first few innings but was able to keep Bowie at bay until he encountered trouble in the fifth inning. The Baysox collected five runs in the fifth inning to grab a 7-1 lead and force Lujan from the game. Stewart walked to begin the inning and a pair of bunts, one a base hit, the other a fielder’s choice, loaded the bases. Aderlin Rodriguez followed with a two-run single to rightcenter field to open up the contest
Lujan lasted 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on eight hits in the loss. Luis Pino took over andfinished out the final 2 2/3 innings. The Baysox added three runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to end the scoring at 12-2.
The Squirrels continue an action-packed eight-game, seven-day homestand on Saturday evening at 6:05 p.m., with Super Blast fireworks presented by Floor & Décor. Richmond will send RHP Cory Taylor (1-2, 5.12) to the mound against Bowie RHP David Hess (3-1, 4.00). Flying Squirrels individual tickets, mini plans and group packages are on sale by contacting the Richmond box office at 804-359-FUNN or online at www.squirrelsbaseball.com
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