Baysox Drop Rubber Match to First Place Harrisburg

Even in the midst of a rough stretch during the latter part of June, during which the Baysox lost six times during a seven-game stretch, Bowie manager Gary Kendall remained confident, and consistently reminded his team, even despite the struggles at the time, that its goal of reaching the postseason was still within reach.

The top two teams in each of the Eastern League’s two divisions qualify for the playoffs.

And although the Baysox dropped the rubber match of its three-game series with first place Harrisburg Wednesday afternoon, falling to the Senators 6-3, Bowie’s turnaround since that point in June—which has put the Baysox in an even better position to make the postseason—received more emphasis from Kendall following the game than his team’s loss.

Even with Wednesday’s defeat, the Baysox (56-46) are 17-8 in July and are currently tied with Richmond for second place in the Eastern League’s Western Division, trailing Harrisburg by just 1.5 games for first place.

“It’s been a great month for us,” Kendall said. “I’m pretty pleased where we’re at, and I don’t really like to put too much stock in one game. We just have to continue to win, and that’s what it’s going to come down to. We’re close enough that, if we continue to play good baseball, we’re going to be in it down the stretch.”

Bowie beat Harrisburg, , after falling 13-2 Monday, but had trouble generating much offense off of seasoned major league veteran pitcher Oliver Perez Wednesday.

The left-handed Perez limited the Baysox to just one run on six hits in 5 2/3 innings of work.

The Senators, however, had trouble generating much offense as well, at least early on, and the game was tied 1-1 through six innings. Outfielder Bryce Harper and third baseman Tim Pahuta hit back-to-back home runs for Harrisburg in the seventh inning, though, extending the Senators’ lead to 3-1 before they tacked on three more runs, on a three-run home run by Devin Ivany, in the ninth inning.

Bowie’s Ronnie Welty hit a two-run home run home run in the bottom half of the ninth inning, trimming the Baysox’s deficit to 6-3, but the combination of Rafael Martin and Patrick McCoy closed the door on Bowie after that.

“Harrisburg’s a good club,” Baysox second baseman Greg Miclat said. “Perez kept us off-balance and didn’t give up much. And when we did have runners on, he made some good pitches.”

Miclat, though, like Kendall, preferred to focus more on Bowie’s turnaround in July rather than dwell on the loss to Harrisburg.

“We’ve been playing good ball, and hopefully we can continue to do that,” Miclat said. “And hopefully we get another shot at Harrisburg in the playoffs.”