5/1 -- Four Homers Sink Baysox, 7-3

BOWIE, Md. -- The Richmond Flying Squirrels hit four home runs to earn a series victory and a 7-3 win over the Bowie Baysox in front of 4,348 at Prince George's Stadium Wednesday afternoon. 
Richmond (10-13) led off the game with a solo home run from Jacob Heyward on the first pitch of the game, but Ademar Rifaela immediately answered in the bottom of the first inning. A single, a double and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for the designated hitter, who chopped a soft RBI grounder to third base to plate T.J. Nichting and even the score at 1-1. 
Jesse Valentin continued his power surge in 2019 morning starts in the second inning, cranking his second home run in as many games off the top of the billboards down the left field line. The shortstop's third home run overall gave the Baysox (6-20) their first lead of the day, 2-1.
The Squirrels strung together a five-run third inning and tacked on a Chris Shaw solo home run in the seventh inning to take a 7-2 lead, but the hosts chipped away in the eighth inning. A single, a walk and another single loaded the bases for Martin Cervenka, who drew a five-pitch walk from Melvin Adon to bring home Nichting and decrease the deficit to 7-3 after eight innings.
On the mound, Tanner Chleborad returned to Bowie from Triple-A Norfolk and held the Squirrels scoreless over 3 1/3 innings. The right-hander retired the first six batters in relief of starter Hunter Harvey, with a single and an error serving as the only baserunners allowed. RHP Taylor Grover allowed one run in 1 2/3 innings, while RHP Cristian Alvarado tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Baysox hit the road for seven games over the next eight days. The road trip starts Thursday night at 6:05 p.m. against the Erie SeaWolves, Double-A Affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, at UPMC Park in Northwestern Pennsylvania. LHP Zac Lowther (1-2, 3.44 ERA) leads the series off on the mound for the Baysox against Erie LHP Gregory Soto (0-0, 1.80).