The Richmond Flying Squirrels held off a late Bowie Baysox rally to win 6-5 in 10 innings Sunday at Prince George’s Stadium, scoring three go-ahead runs in the top of the tenth before surviving a two-run Baysox response in the bottom half.
Richmond, the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, improved to 70-48 and sits second in the Eastern League’s Southwest Division. Bowie, the Baltimore Orioles’ Double-A affiliate, fell to 56-62 and fifth in the division. The Baysox got a strong performance from the middle of their bullpen but couldn’t finish the job against a Richmond lineup that drew 10 walks and stole five bases over the course of the game.
Richmond jumped out early, scoring three runs in the top of the first without a hit — Lisbel Diaz and Maui Ahuna both drew bases-loaded walks that brought runners home, and Jancel Villarroel added a sacrifice fly. Bowie starter Greg Farone settled in after that, allowing nothing else over his next 4 1/3 innings before exiting having thrown 95 pitches.
Bowie tied it in the bottom of the fifth on back-to-back home runs from Wehiwa Aloy and Aron Estrada — Aloy’s fifth of the year, followed immediately by Estrada’s team-leading 22nd. The game stayed knotted at 3-3 through the middle innings, helped by a strong relief stretch from Bowie’s Sebastian Gongora, who worked six innings out of the bullpen allowing just one run, and Micah Ashman, who pitched into the ninth on his 24th birthday. Ashman struck out three over the stretch and lowered his season ERA to 1.90, one of the better marks among Double-A relievers with at least 25 innings this year, according to Eye On Annapolis’s coverage of the game.
Ashman’s night ended in the ninth when he was ejected by third-base umpire Brandon Tipton, along with Bowie hitting coach Josh Bunselmeyer, after Ashman had already worked a runner on with a walk. Neither team scored in the ninth, sending the game to extra innings tied 3-3.
Richmond broke through against Bowie reliever Brock Moore in the top of the tenth. Sabin Ceballos and Charlie Szykowny each drove in a run with singles, and Ahuna added a sacrifice fly, putting Richmond up 6-3 heading to the bottom of the inning. Bowie answered against closer Marques Johnson — Thomas Sosa’s two-run single scored Dom Keegan and pinch-runner Tavian Josenberger to cut the deficit to 6-5 — but Frederick Bencosme struck out swinging to end the threat and secure the win for Richmond.
Tyler Vogel, who pitched a scoreless ninth for Richmond, picked up the win, improving to 9-2. Johnson earned his second save despite allowing the two runs in the tenth. Moore took the loss, falling to 0-1.
Richmond’s Ahuna had three stolen bases in the game, giving him 27 on the season, while Sabin Ceballos went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Vance Honeycutt led Bowie’s offense, reaching base three times with two hits and a stolen base. The teams played in front of 2,973 fans under sunny, 81-degree conditions.
