When Drew Sommers froze designated hitter Omar Martinez with an 0-2 fastball on Wednesday night, a dynasty had been solidified at Heritage Financial Park; a third South Atlantic League (SAL) championship in four years for the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Sommers flung his mitt in the air as his teammates mobbed him, ripping the jersey off his back.
Most Bowling Green players will not ever appear in a World Series or even an MLB Postseason game. On average, only around 10% will eventually reach the major leagues. Yet no matter how or when their baseball careers end, they will have a championship ring to show for it.
Sommers’ scoreless ninth capped a dominant pitching performance by the Hot Rods (Tampa Bay Rays High-A Affiliate), holding the Hudson Valley Renegades (New York Yankees High-A Affiliate) to just five hits in Bowling Green’s 4-1 championship victory.
The Renegades and Hot Rods split the first two games of the SAL championship series, a High-A league featuring 12 big league farm teams. Hudson Valley came just one game short of avenging their championship series loss last year.
Second baseman Roc Riggio jump-started the Renegades in game one, jacking a leadoff homer, but the Hot Rods held Hudson Valley hitless the rest of the way and scored five unanswered to win 5-1.
Hudson Valley stayed alive on Monday night, propelled to victory by a grand slam from Martinez that broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth inning to set up the winner-take-all third game.
Bowling Green got on the scoreboard first in the decisive game three in the top of the fourth inning. With two outs and the game’s first runner in scoring position leading off second base, designated hitter Aidan Smith stroked a double into the left-center field gap, out of reach of the diving center fielder Brendan Jones, putting Bowling Green up 1-0. After Smith advanced to third on a passed ball that got away from catcher Antonio Gomez, he then scored on a safety squeeze bunt from left fielder Noah Myers to put the Hot Rods up by a pair
Starting pitcher Trent Sellers retired Tatem Levins to stop the bleeding and threw one more scoreless inning before being replaced on the mound by Harrison Cohen in the top of the sixth inning.
Starting pitcher Jackson Baumeister dominated through five innings, preventing any Renegades baserunnesr from advancing past first base. He had sat down 14 of his last 15 batters faced heading into the sixth inning, where Jones led off by dropping a softly hit single into shallow left field. Baumeister nearly stranded Jones there on first after back-to-back strikeouts, but shortstop George Lombard Jr. crushed a double into left-center field. The ball one-hopped the wall, and the speedy Jones wheeled around third base to score without a throw, making the score 2-1.
The double chased Baumeister, who came just one out away from twirling six scoreless innings. Owen Wild entered the game and promptly struck out first baseman Josh Moylan to preserve the Bowling Green lead.
Renegades right fielder Garrett Martin started the bottom of the seventh off with a bang. The right fielder sent a hard-hit liner to center field that made its way to the wall. Martin strolled into second base with a leadoff double, but he went no further from there.
Wild induced two straight flyouts, then struck out Jasso to end the inning, letting out a roar before returning to the visitors’ dugout. After a successful relief outing for Wild, the Hot Rods were just six outs away from the championship.
The Renegades went down quietly in the eighth; left-hander Jackson Lancaster efficiently sent all three batters he faced back to the dugout. After the dormant Hot Rods offense– who had not recorded a hit since the fifth inning– finally awoke and got some insurance in the top of the ninth.
With runners leading off second and third and only one out, first baseman Raudelis Martinez yanked an offspeed offering from Mason Vinyard over Martin’s head in right field to score both runners, putting the champagne on ice for Bowling Green.
Martinez’s double allowed Sommers to enter for the championship-clinching save with a three-run cushion. The big left-hander struck Lombard out looking on four pitches, Moylan swinging on five, then gave up a single to Martin. Sommers ensured the tying run would not step the plate, as he made quick work of Omar Martinez, striking out the catcher for the final out.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Photo credit: Kira Crutcher
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