Bowie Baysox 9, Reading (Phillies) 1 (Series tied 2-2, next win takes all)
The Fightin Phils and Baysox have traded blowouts to get the Eastern League championship knotted at two games apiece. It's a best of five series, so the winner of the next game - which is Saturday night - wins the league title.
On Friday, it was Bowie getting the best of the Fightin Phils. Starting pitcher David Hess led the way with a strong seven inning effort, holding Reading to only three hits and a walk while striking out eight batters. Many players on the Bowie roster are a bit on the older side for prospects, in their mid-20s, but Hess, a fifth rounder from last year's draft, is just 22, so his performance on this kind of stage is interesting. He shoved in the series against Altoona as well.
As for this game, the Baysox grabbed three runs in the first inning and never looked back from there. Seven of their nine starting batters had at least one hit in the game, including a 2-5 night with two runs driven in for Trey Mancini, another player who has popped at least a little bit as a prospect with his performance this season. Even catcher Chance Sisco, who took an 0-3 in the game, still managed to drive in two runs.
Corban Joseph, brother of Caleb, also had a nice night, although he's not a prospect any more - still, he went 2-4 and drew a walk, scoring three runs over the course of the game while serving as the Baysox DH.
Bowie reliever Jason Stoffel and Andrew Triggs each added a scoreless inning to seal the series-tying victory.
The Baysox are at home for the decisive game 5 of the series, with first pitch scheduled for 6:05.