Hot Rods Sweep Asheville Tourists in Season Opening Series
Bowling Green, Kentucky – A different tone in every sense on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, but the same result as the Bowling Green Hot Rods (3-0) completed the sweep of the Asheville Tourists (0-3) with a 1-0 victory. The Hot Rods have a scheduled off day on Monday before beginning a six-game series on Tuesday with the Hickory Crawdads in Hickory, North Carolina.
Bowling Green scored the lone run of the game against Asheville starter Aaron Brown in the fourth. Heriberto Hernandez came up to bat with two outs in the frame, and doubled off the left-field wall. He took a lead off second and Brown attempted to pick him off but the throw sailed into centerfield. When Jordan Brewer scooped it up he errantly fired the ball to third. As Hernandez got up from his slide, the ball hit the net on the fly and rolled down into the home dugout, advancing Hernandez home and giving the Hot Rods a 1-0 lead.
The Tourists didn’t threaten much until the end of the sixth, when a wild pitch put a runner on second with two outs after a Luis Santana single. Things looked bleak when Nerio Rodriguez drilled a single into left, but Diego Infante saved the day for the Hot Rods, scooping up the ground ball and firing a strike to home, with Matthew Dyer sealing the deal and slapping the tag on a sliding Santana to preserve the shutout. Jose Lopez came in to start the eighth and earned his first save and BG’s first of the year as a team, striking out the final two batters of the game on two well-placed breaking balls.
Mason Montgomery threw 3.1 solid innings while striking out five in a no-decision. Cameron Leonard (1-0) earned his first win in his Hot Rods debut, throwing a 1.2 innings of shutout baseball, allowing a hit and two walks. Sean Hunley debuted as well, continuing the shutout by tossing two frames and striking out two Tourist hitters. Lopez closed the game out with two punchouts and he induced a double play in the eighth en route to his third career save.
Notes: Hernandez has three hits this season, all of them doubles off the wall… Lopez locked down his first save in a BG uniform… Bowling Green completed their first three-game series sweep since they changed leagues… The last Hot Rods three-game sweep at Bowling Green Ballpark came against Fort Wayne in July 2019… Sunday’s win was the first shutout since July 21 of last season, a 10-0 win over Greensboro… Bowling Green and Hickory faced off twelve times last season, including a six-game set here at Bowling Green Ballpark… BG has won their last seven showdowns with the Crawdads, including a six-game sweep at home… The Hot Rods hit the road for their second series, beginning a six-game set in Hickory. Their first pitch against the Crawdads is at 5:00 PM CT on Tuesday, April 12… Fans can listen into the game on Talk 104.1 FM and 930 AM WKCT beginning with Hot Rods Gameday at 12:50 PM… Fans can also listen in via the MiLB First Pitch app on Android and IOS, or go to the Hot Rods website at www.bghotrods.com… Tickets are on sale at the Box Office, www.bghotrods.com and by calling 270-901-2121.
