Heyward homers for second straight night, but Flying Squirrels fall, 6-5

After allowing three straight runs, the Richmond Flying Squirrels attacked with a two-run eighth inning but could not complete the comeback in a 6-5 loss against the Bowie Baysox on Thursday night at Prince George’s Stadium.

The Flying Squirrels (61-67, 21-38) had the potential tying run on base in the ninth but fell a run short.

The Baysox (64-65, 37-23) pushed ahead to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. Darrell Hernaiz drove in a run with a double and Zach Watson plated a run with a sacrifice fly.

Shane Matheny led off the fifth inning with a walk and was pushed to third base when Tyler Fitzgerald muscled a double to left field. Will Wilson drew a walk to load the bases with one out in the next at-bat. Brandon Martorano lined a double to the left-center field gap and cleared the bases to give Richmond a 3-2 lead.

Richmond starter Landen Roupp loaded the bases with one out in the sixth inning off a walk and two base hits. Chris Wright (Loss, 4-2) entered the ballgame for the Flying Squirrels and allowed a sacrifice fly to Connor Norby, bringing home a runner from third base to tie the game at 3-3.

Roupp allowed a career-high five walks in his outing over 5.1 innings with five hits, three runs (two earned) and six punchouts.

Bowie attacked with two home runs in the seventh inning to capture a 6-3 advantage. Hudson Haskin hit delivered the go-ahead run with a solo home run and Andrew Daschbach padded the lead with a two-run homer.

After Riley Mahan tripled with two outs in the eighth inning, Jacob Heyward crushed a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 6-5. It was the 10th home run of the season for Heyward and the second consecutive night he has homered against the Baysox.

Wilson drew a walk in the top of the ninth with two outs but Hector Perez (Save, 3) fired a strikeout to strand the runner and secure the Bowie win.

Richmond reliever John Gavin pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and picked off a runner trying to steal second in the eighth inning.

Bowie starter Garrett Stallings totaled 4.1 innings in his start, allowing three runs, six hits and three walks with six strikeouts. Noah Denoyer (Win, 1-2) allowed two runs and three hits over 3.2 innings and struck out five batters.

The Flying Squirrels continue the road trip against the Baysox Friday with a first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from Prince George’s Stadium. Left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison (4-2, 3.36) will start for Richmond opposed by right-hander Chayce McDermott (1-1, 8.00) for Bowie.

The team returns to The Diamond for their final regular season homestand against the Erie SeaWolves from Sept. 13-18. Tickets are available online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-3866 or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.

The Flying Squirrels will host their first playoff game since 2014 on Thursday, September 22 at The Diamond. Tickets for all potential playoff games in Richmond are on sale now at SquirrelsBaseball.com.