Bowie Baysox take series opener with Richmond Flying Squirrels with 7-5 win

The Richmond Flying Squirrels notched a pair of home runs early but could not hold off the Bowie Baysox in a 7-5 loss Tuesday night at Prince George’s Stadium.

The Flying Squirrels (25-31), the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, matched a season-high 10 walks against the Baysox (24-32), the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, but left 15 on base and went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

Richmond stormed ahead, 3-0, in the first inning. On the second pitch of the game, Shane Matheny rocketed a solo home run to right field.

In the next at-bat, Vaun Brown walked, stole second base and was plated after a Bowie throwing error to give Richmond a two-run advantage. Brandon Martorano capped the scoring with an RBI single.

Carter Aldrete upped the Richmond lead to 4-0 in the third inning with a solo home run to center field. It Aldrete’s seventh home run of the season.

Bowie responded with a four-run fourth inning to tie the ballgame. With two on and two outs, Zach Watson drove in a pair with a single and Billy Cook launched a two-run homer to even the score, 4-4. Carson Whisenhunt ended his start with 3.2 innings of work, allowing five hits and four runs with five strikeouts.

With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, Simon Whiteman worked a five-pitch walk to score Aldrete from third base and sent the Flying Squirrels back in front, 5-4. Whiteman has collected five RBIs over his last three games.

Nick Zwack (Loss, 2-4) worked two outs in the sixth inning but allowed two walks and a base hit to load the bases. Coby Mayo moved the Baysox to a 7-5 advantage with a bases-clearing triple.

Bowie’s bullpen combination of Houston Roth (Win, 2-2) and Kade Strowd held the Flying Squirrels to one run, combining for six walks and seven strikeouts. Wandisson Charles (Save, 3) allowed back-to-back baserunners to start the ninth inning, but delt three consecutive strikeouts to secure the victory.

Richmond will take on Bowie in a doubleheader Wednesday night with first pitch scheduled for 5:35 p.m. Right-hander Mason Black (0-4, 5.31) will start for Richmond in Game 1 with right-hander Kai-Wei Teng (0-3, 5.31) taking the hill in Game 2.