May 6, 2002 - The post-game celebration said it all. Wes Rachels squeezed the ball for the game’s final out, the Baysox dugout emptied on to the field and the team congratulated one another on the win. No, it wasn’t a World Series game, and it is only May, but the sweet taste of victory was something the Baysox hadn’t experienced for quite some time.
Rachels broke up a tie ballgame with a single in the top of the seventh inning to lead the Baysox to a 6-4 win over the Harrisburg Senators on Monday. The win snapped a 12-game losing streak for the Baysox, which was the longest in club history.
With the game tied at 3-3, Ed Rogers led off the seventh with a double off Senators’ reliever Jeff McAvoy and scored the go-ahead run on Rachels’ single. Napoleon Calzado then hit into what appeared to be an inning-ending double play, but 2B Josh McKinley threw the ball away, allowing Rachels to score and making it 5-3. Dave Ullery’s double off the center field wall scored Calzado, giving Bowie a 6-3 lead. McAcoy (1-2) took the loss for Harrisburg.
Eric Dubose came on in the eighth inning and, after retiring the first two batters, allowed a solo homer to Jeff Bailey to make it 6-4. Dubose settled down to record the final four outs of the game and pick up his first save of the season. He also recorded three strikeouts.
Harrisburg (11-16) wasted little time in tallying the game’s first run. Termel Sledge led off the game with his third homer of the season, off Bowie starter Juan Rosario. Rachels saved another potential run by making a diving stop of a ground ball to first base, which ended the inning. It was his first start of the season at first.
In the bottom of the second, Bowie (6-21) loaded the bases off Senators’ starter Donnie Bridges. Joey Hammond then cleared them with a three-RBI double to left-center, giving the Baysox a 3-1 lead.
Harrisburg came right back to tie the game with two runs in the third against Rosario. Derek Brown (1-2) worked two scoreless innings to pick up his first victory on the season for Bowie.
The two team’s meet once again on Tuesday in the middle-game of a three-game set. It is Safeway 2-for-1 Admission at Prince George’s Stadium. The series finale is Wednesday, with a special 12:05 p.m. start time for Senior Day, sponsored by the American Stroke Association.
NOTES: Bowie’s last win before Monday was on April 21, 15 days ago…Rogers went 3-for-5 with a double, run and stolen base to extend his hitting streak to nine games (19-for-35)…He has raised his average from .222 to .337 over that stretch…On the other end of the spectrum, Keith Reed went 0-for-3 and has now gone seven games and 24 at-bats without a hit…His average has dipped from .338 to .255 during that period…Doug Gredvig did not start for the second straight game after aggravating a heal injury over the weekend…His status is day-to-day…LHP Erik Bedard (1-0)will take the mound for Bowie on Tuesday…RHP Mark Mangum (3-2) will go for Harrisburg…Game time is 7:05 p.m.
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