Hickory Crawdads end series against Bowling Green with loss in extra innings

The Hickory Crawdads ended their series against the Bowling Green Hot Rods on Sunday in Kentucky with a 7-4 loss in 11 innings.

Bowling Green struck with two runs in the bottom of the third inning, and the Hot Rods’ first three pitchers held Hickory to just two hits. The three threw 66 pitches, 45 of which were strikes.

In the seventh inning, Hickory scored the first run of the game. With two outs, the Crawdads caught up. Gleider Figuereo hit a single. Anthony Gutierrez followed with a single. Benjamin Blackwell reached base on an error by the third baseman, allowing Figuereo to score.

Hickory scored in the eighth inning when Cameron Cauley hit his sixth home run of the season to tie the game at 2-2.

In the ninth inning, Luis Mieses was walked and then replaced by Marcus Smith as a pinch runner. After a pop out, Smith stole second base. One out later, Blackwell flew out to right field as the Crawdads missed their chance to take the lead. However, the Hot Rods went up three and down three, forcing the game into overtime, the second time in the series.

In the 10th inning, Blackwell started at second base. With one base left, Edgar Basabe hit a single and put runners on the corners. One out later, Basabe stole second base, but a pop out ended the threat. Bowling Green could not score a run and the two teams went into the 11th inning. Yeison Morrobel started at second base and moved to third after a balk. He scored on a sacrifice fly from Scott. Figuerero followed with a solo home run for a 4-2 lead.

Bowling Green responded by loading the bases and scoring a run. The game ended with a grand slam and Hickory lost 7-4.

Anthony Gutierrez had two hits for the Crawdads.

The Crawdads are 10-11 in the second half of the season and 38-49 overall. Hickory is off until Friday, July 19, when they host the Greensboro Grasshoppers.