July 13: Tena's 4 hits lead Ducks' comeback, but Bowie walks off to 6-5 win

July 13 RubberDucks Game Recap | Box Score

Bowie Baysox (8-5, 35-47) 6, Akron RubberDucks (4-8, 44-37) 5

WP: Jensen Elliott (5-2) LP: Carlos Vargas (1-2) Save: None

Summary

RubberDucks shortstop José Tena had a career-high four hits, and Akron right fielder Jhonkensy Noel capped a comeback from a 4-0 deficit with a go-ahead, two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning, but Bowie first baseman J.D. Mundy hit a game-winning two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the ninth for a 6-5 Baysox win to open a six-game series at Prince George’s Stadium Wednesday afternoon. Akron has three walk-off losses in seven games in Bowie.

Turning Point

Akron held a 5-4 lead entering the bottom of the ninth inning, when right-hander Carlos Vargas walked shortstop Joey Ortiz and allowed right fielder Shayne Fontana’s single to left field. After retiring the next two batters on a flyout and strikeout, Mundy hit a double over Noel in right field, scoring Ortiz and Fontana to win the game.

Mound Presence

Right-hander Hunter Gaddis started with three scoreless innings before allowing a leadoff home run to center fielder Colton Cowser in the fourth inning. Third baseman Cesar Prieto then doubled to left-center field, left fielder Hudson Haskin walked, and with one out, Fontana hit a three-run homer to right-center field for a 4-0 Bowie lead. Gaddis then retired the final seven batters of his 5 2/3 innings, striking out nine batters, walking one and allowing four earned runs on five hits. Left-hander Eli Lingos pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings, before Vargas began his outing with a scoreless eighth.

Duck Tales

Akron began the comeback with Tena’s fifth-inning leadoff homer against left-hander Drew Rom. Second baseman Brayan Rocchio singled to right field and later scored on left fielder George Valera’s RBI groundout (his team-high 52nd RBI). First baseman Micah Pries led off the sixth inning against right-hander Connor Loeprich with a double and scored on Tena’s RBI single to make it 4-3. Tena singled leading off the ninth against right-hander Jensen Elliott, catcher Bryan Lavastida walked, and with the two in scoring position, Noel grounded a two-run single to left field for a 5-4 Akron lead.

Top 9: WE TAKE THE LEAD! Two strikes away from the end of the game, @jhonkensy15 perfectly places a single right between short and third! Tena and Lavastida hustle on home to put us up one!

Akron 5 | Bowie 4 pic.twitter.com/VFl8ljTuJb

— Akron RubberDucks (@AkronRubberDuck) July 13, 2022

Notebook

Eight RubberDucks had at least one of the team’s 12 hits…Akron has four last-at-bat losses in 12 second-half games (4-8), three walk-off defeats in six second-half road games (2-4), and eight walk-off losses overall this season…Bowie leads the season series, 5-2…The RubberDucks are 12-14 in one-run games…Game Time: 2:36…Attendance: 1,522.

On the Pond

The RubberDucks continue their series in Bowie in a doubleheader at 5:35 p.m. EDT Thursday. In Game 1, right-hander Tanner Bibee (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will face rehabbing right-hander Kyle Bradish (0-0, 0.00 ERA). In Game 2, right-hander Luis Oviedo (0-3, 6.88 ERA) is scheduled to face Baysox right-hander Noah Denoyer (0-2, 2.19 ERA). The game broadcast, powered by FirstEnergy, is on 640 WHLO, the 640 WHLO iHeartRadio channel, and akronrubberducks.com, and available on MiLB.TV. Tickets for RubberDucks home games are available at akronrubberducks.com/tickets.