Though Orioles fans may be more familiar with Bobby Bundy’s younger brother Dylan—Baltimore’s 1st round selection in last June’s draft—the elder Bundy authored a scintillating performance on Monday night in Salem, giving the Camden faithful a bunch of reasons to keep him on their radar as well. Bundy struck out nine Sox and did not allow a run after the first inning in a 6-2 victory over Salem at LewisGale Field. The Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first two batters of the game doubled, but Bundy permitted just one more hit the rest of the way and twirled his third career complete game.
Derrick Gibson and Alex Valdez led off with back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the first inning, vaulting Salem to a quick start. But the advantage evaporated before an out was recorded in the top of the second, as four consecutive Keys reached against Sox starter Stolmy Pimentel, with three of them scoring to surge the visitors to a 3-2 lead. Dale Mollenhauer’s single preceded RBI doubles from Michael Flacco and Kipp Schutz, while Brian Ward reached on a pop-fly down the line that fell out of the reach of Salem outfielder Bryce Brentz, who was charged with an error. A hit-batter and a walk loaded the bases with one out, but Pimentel struck out Jacob Julius and induced a fly-out from Miguel Abreu to strand three.
With Bundy finding his stride, Pimentel only retired one of the four batters he faced in the third before his night was over. Mollenhauer opened the frame with a double, scoring two batters later from third base on a wild pitch. Immediately after made it 4-2, Schutz launched a solo homer to right field, giving Frederick a three-run lead. Pimentel plunked the next batter, ending his day after two and a third innings.
Pimentel fell to 0-2 in a Salem jersey this year, 0-11 for the season, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits, with one strikeout, two walks, and two hit-batters. Pete Ruiz emerged from the bullpen and allowed just one hit over four and two-thirds scoreless innings, striking out seven. Anatanaer Batista tossed the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits.
But the day belonged to Bundy, who faced the minimum three batters seven times in the final eight innings, allowing just one hit and one walk after the first two batters of the game doubled. Shannon Wilkerson singled in the fifth to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, but Bundy set down the final 13 Red Sox hitters in the aftermath to conclude the game.
Bundy improved to 9-5, allowing just two runs (one earned) on three hits, with nine strikeouts and one walk. Schutz led the Keys offense with three hits, three runs, and two RBI, as Frederick won its ninth straight over Salem.
The Sox have now dropped six in a row heading into Tuesday’s matchup against the Keys, a 7:05 start at LewisGale Field. Drake Britton will take the mound for Salem, while Jake Pettit shall throw for Frederick.
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Chris Graham
