MANCHESTER -- The Bowie Baysox outlasted the rain and the Fisher Cats to post a 9-5 win in front of 6,458 at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium on Friday night.
The Baysox drew first blood in a matchup of teams with the worst records in the Eastern League. The Fisher Cats bring up the rear in the Eastern Conference and dropped to 22-37. Bowie, at the bottom of the standings in the Western Conference, improved to 25-34.
The Baysox had 14 hits to seven for the Fisher Cats. New Hampshire's four pitchers issued six walks and Bowie's four had seven.
The teams go back at it again tonight at 7:05 in the middle of a three-game set.
It's been a wet and wild week for the Fisher Cats. Friday night's game started 12 minutes late because of rain and there was another delay of a little more than an hour in the top of the third.
The Fisher Cats have had two games suspended because of rain in the last eight days. They had a tie game stopped in the eighth inning at Trenton last Friday. It took 14 innings to finish it off Saturday and they lost 3-2. Rain held up the Fisher Cats and Richmond Flying Squirrels in the top of the fourth on Wednesday. New Hampshire won 3-0 when the game was completed on Thursday.
Just when it looked like the Fisher Cats were in big trouble on Friday night, they rallied.
Bowie sent nine men to the plate in the top of the fifth and scored four runs to go in front 7-1.
New Hampshire put up four of its own in the bottom of the inning, the key blow a three-run bases-clearing double down the left field line by Mike McDade.
Catcher Sean Ochinko extended his consecutive game hitting streak to 13 with another double that knocked in McDade. .
The Fisher Cats already had the four runs in and had runners on first and third with no outs when Kyler Newby, who had come on to relieve Chris Petrini.
Newby got a popup, strikeout and ground out after walking a batter and the Baysox were out of the inning and out of trouble. Newby ended up getting the pitching win.
Ochinko's streak is the team's longest of the season. He was 0-for-3 in his first game after being called up from Dunedin and has a hit in each of his games since.
“Sean Ochinko can hit, it's as simple as that,” New Hampshire manager Sal Fasano said. “He did it down there and he did it with me in Lansing two years before that. He can be an offensive threat and to see him do it at the Double-A level has been very encouraging for him and his career.”
The Baysox grabbed an early 2-0 lead with runs in the first and second innings.
Rhyne Hughes ripped a 2-and-1 pitch way over everything in right field in the first inning with two outs for 1-0.
Zelous Wheeler singled and eventually scored on Travis Adair's sacrifice fly to center for 2-0 the next inning.
The Fisher Cats got one back in the bottom of the second. Designated hitter Gabe Jacobo reached on a throwing error from deep along the third baseline to open the inning, went to second when Brian Van Kirk walked and scored on Brian Bocock's single to center.
Jacobo had two of the seven Fisher Cat hits. New Hampshire starter Yohan Pino took the loss.
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The Fisher Cats announced that outfielder Kenen Bailli had been called up from Single-A Dunedin and that Brad Glenn had been placed on the disabled list. Glenn is hitting .214 with seven home runs and 26 runs batted in.
