ALTOONA, PA – A relatively quiet night interrupted by one half inning, the Bowie Baysox fell to the Altoona Curve on Tuesday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona. After trading scoreless innings over the first half of the contest, Altoona exploded for six runs in the fifth inning, and rode that frame to a 6-1 final.
Both Chayce McDermott for Bowie and Kyle Nicolas for Altoona tossed up four scoreless frames to open the night. McDermott (L, 1-1) only dealt with two runners in scoring position over those first four innings, but he struck out five batters in the span. Nicolas (W, 1-1) only struck out two batters over five scoreless innings, but he did not allow a single runner past first base.
With two runners on base and one out in the fifth inning, Bowie dipped in to their bullpen for Xavier Moore, but the right-hander allowed both inherited runners to score on base hits, before loading the bases and allowing a grand slam to Matt Gorski.
The six-run explosion dwarfed Bowie’s offensive attempts on the night, but it did not keep Coby Mayo from blasting his second home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth.
After Moore had gotten out of the fifth inning, Bowie got three strong innings of relief from Kade Strowd, who only allowed one baserunner.
The speedy loss dropped Bowie to 4-6 on the season. Their time in Pennsylvania continues Wednesday, as they play a morning game with the Curve. Carlos Tavera will get the start for Bowie, with the first pitch scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
