The Richmond Flying Squirrels (45-53) won their third straight ballgame and also ended a six-game slide against the Bowie Baysox (50-47) with a 6-3 win in front of 9,144 at The Diamond on Thursday night. The Squirrels were swept in a five-game series at Prince George’s Stadium last weekend.
The Squirrels got started quickly against Bowie lefty Eduardo Rodriguez in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs, Rodriguez walked Adam Duvall on four pitches. Mark Minicozzi followed with a bloop-single into right field to put runners at the corners. Angel Villalona stepped in and cracked a first-pitch double through the alley in left-center field. Duvall and Minicozzi both scored for a 2-0 lead.
The Baysox got one of the runs back against Richmond left-hander Edwin Escobar in the second. Christian Walker led off with a double to the left-field corner and was bunted to third base. Josh Horton brought Walker home with a single poked through the hole on the left-side of the infield.
Richmond tacked the run back onto their lead in the third. With one out, Rodriguez walked Skyler Stromsmoe. He advanced to second base on a wild pitch and scored for a 3-1 advantage when Minicozzi singled into center field.
Rodriguez called it a night after five innings, having conceded three earned runs on four hits. He walked four and struck out seven, needing 105 pitches to get through five innings.
Escobar (1-1), making his Diamond debut, was outstanding. He worked into the seventh inning, allowing just a lone run on six hits across 6 2/3 innings. He did not issue a walk and struck out seven to earn his first win at the Double-A level.
Richmond put away the ballgame with three runs against lefty Andy Loomis in the seventh inning. .Javier Herrera and Stromsmoe started the inning with back-to-back solo-home runs. Herrera crunched his 13th of the year to center field, while Stromsmoe laced a low-flying liner down the left-field line. Minicozzi sparked the Squirrels again with a one-out double. He came in for a 6-1 lead on a fielder’s choice bouncer from Andrew Susac. Herrera notched his 50th RBI of the season, while Susac chipped in his 40th.
Lefty Tom Vessella cleaned up the seventh inning for Escobar and right-hander Drew Bowlin worked a perfect eighth inning. Bowlin had some trouble in the ninth inning and surrendered the final two runs of the ballgame. However, lefty Phil McCormick came on to finish the ballgame and earn his second save of the season.
The two teams will play a double header consisting of two seven-inning games on Friday night at The Diamond. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. as Richmond LHP Jack Snodgrass (7-4, 3.47) will make the start opposite Bowie RHP Tyler Wilson (4-1, 2.17). The Squirrels will throw LHP Ryan Bradley (0-5, 6.75) in game two. Bowie has yet to announce a scheduled starter for game two. The Flying Squirrels Pregame Warmup will begin at 5 p.m. on Sports Radio 910, SportsRadio910.com and IHeart Radio.
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Chris Graham
