Hot Rods record 6th straight victory with 7-3 win over Rome

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. –  Niko Hulsizer’s two hits and four RBIs helped the Bowling Green Hot Rods (25-12) to a 7-3 victory in the series opening game against the Rome Braves (19-18) on Tuesday night at State Mutual Stadium in Rome, Georgia. The series continues on Wednesday afternoon with a 12:00 PM CT first pitch.

The Hot Rods touched up Rome starter and MLB rehabber Touki Toussaint in the top of the second inning. Evan Edwards led off with a solo homer to right-center field, giving Bowling Green a 1-0 lead. The homer was Edwards’ fourth of the season and left the deepest part of the park.

Rome tied the game in the bottom of the first and Toussaint lasted three innings before he was replaced in the fourth by Braves reliever Freddy Tarnok, where Hot Rods hitters took the lead. Greg Jones led off with a double and, with one out, Edwards advanced Jones to third on a line-out and scored when Niko Hulsizer singled to right, giving the Hot Rods a 2-1 lead. Connor Hollis singled up the middle later in the inning, plating Hulsizer to extend Bowling Green’s lead to 3-1.

Jesse Franklin V brought Rome within a run in the fourth, hitting a solo homer off Trageton, but the Hot Rods extended their lead in the fifth with Tarnok still on the mound. Erik Ostberg walked, Pedro Martinez singled, and with one out, Blake Hunt singled to load the bases. Edwards walked to force home the fourth run of the game and Hulsizer cleared the bases in the next at-bat with a double to extend the Hot Rods lead to 7-2. Cody Milligan singled home Beau Philip in the fifth, cutting the Bowling Green lead to four runs, but the Hot Rods bullpen shut down the Braves, tossing four shutout innings in the 7-3 win.

Trageton (3-1) earned his third win of the season, tossing 5.0 innings while allowing three runs on six hits with two strikeouts. Colby White threw 1.0 perfect inning with a strikeout. Trevor Brigden allowed one hit while pitching the seventh with a strikeout. Ezequiel Zabaleta had a strikeout over his 1.0 hitless and scoreless frame. Alan Strong pitched the ninth, holding Rome to one hit with a strikeout.