The Bowie Baysox fell to the Altoona Curve 2-1 in a tightly contested game on Thursday night, marking their third one-run loss of the season. Despite striking first, the Baysox committed two errors in the seventh inning, allowing the Curve to score both of their runs and clinch the win.
The game started off with impressive performances from both pitchers, with Jared Jones striking out five batters for Altoona over the first four innings, and Justin Armbruester allowing only three baserunners for Bowie over the same span. However, Bowie managed to break through against Jones in the fifth inning with three consecutive hits, including an RBI knock by Cesar Prieto, who extended his league-leading hit streak to 11-consecutive games with a 3-for-4 performance.
As Armbruester attempted to extend into the sixth inning, Altoona managed to put two runners on base, forcing Bowie to bring in Easton Lucas from the bullpen. Lucas was able to quell the threat and strand the bases loaded through weak contact to keep Bowie ahead.
In the seventh inning, Conner Loeprich took the mound for Bowie but quickly found himself in trouble after allowing a leadoff walk and single. A bunt by Drew Maggi turned into a troublesome situation when Loeprich sent it wide of first base, allowing the tying run to score. Against the next batter, catcher Ramon Rodriguez misfired a throw to first base on a strikeout, further extending the inning and opening the door for an eventual go-ahead sacrifice fly by Liover Peguero. Both runs scored against Loeprich (L, 0-1) were unearned.
Despite collecting nine hits, the Bowie offense struggled against Travis MacGregor (W, 2-0) and Noe Toribio (0-1), failing to get a runner into scoring position after the fifth inning.
The Baysox now hold a 5-7 record for the season and will continue their six-game series against the Altoona Curve on Friday, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. This loss marks the team’s third one-run loss of the season, highlighting the importance of minimizing errors and capitalizing on offensive opportunities.