Former Bowling Green High School star Luke Brown had an unforgettable night in a return visit to his hometown on Thursday at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Brown, the starting center fielder for the Greensboro Grasshoppers, hit two home runs and tallied eight RBIs in a 19-10 victory over the host Bowling Green Hot Rods in South Atlantic League action. Brown finished the night 4-for-6 at the plate with two homers, three runs scored and eight RBIs. The Bowling Green native played collegiately at Western Kentucky and Louisville before being picked in the ninth round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates – the parent club of the Grasshoppers.

Kamren James blasted a two-run homer and tied his career-high with four RBIs, but the Hot Rods (37-25, 68-55) were outhit 16-12 by the Grasshoppers in a 19-10 loss on Thursday at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Greensboro (66-60 overall, 30-32 second half) scored their first runs of the game in the top of the first inning against Bowling Green starter Ben Peoples. Tres Gonzalez walked, Termarr Johnson singled and Jack Brannigan worked a walk to load the bases.

Brown singled, scoring Gonzalez to make it 1-0. Brendon Dixon knocked a base hit to center, plating Brown to increase the lead, 2-0. A wild pitch from Peoples scored Hudson Head from third, putting the Grasshoppers up 3-0.

The Grasshoppers scored four more runs in the top of the second off Hot Rods reliever Duncan Davitt, capped off with a two-run homer by Brown.

Bowling Green (68-55, 37-25) responded with a run in the bottom of the second against Greensboro starter Po-Yu Chen. Dominic Keegan led off with a single and moved up to third on a base hit from Willy Vasquez. James plated Keegan on a sacrifice fly to right, making it a 7-1 game.

After Greensboro scored three more runs in the top of the third, Carson Williams rocketed an RBI triple in the bottom half of the inning to cut the deficit, 10-2.

In the bottom of the fourth, Vasquez led off with a single and came around to score on a two-run blast by James. Jeffry Parra singled and Chandler Simpson doubled to put runners on first and third. A passed ball from the catcher Shawn Ross allowed Parra to score and cut the deficit to 10-5.

The Grasshoppers scored a run in the top of the fifth, but the Hot Rods answered back with two runs in the bottom of the sixth on two wild pitches from Greensboro reliever Darvin Garcia.

Brown hit a grand slam in the top of the seventh off Hot Rods reliever Aneudy Cortorreal to spark a five-run rally for Greensboro.

The Hot Rods scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning off Grasshoppers reliever Jorge Ramos. Brock Jones notched an RBI triple and James logged an RBI groundout to make it 16-9.

Greensboro scored three runs off Bowling Green reliever Sandy Gaston in the top of the eighth, while Parra doubled in a run in the bottom of the ninth to finalize the game at 19-10.

Garcia (1-0) earned the win, allowing two runs on a hit, four walks and two strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings. Peoples (4-6) took the loss, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks over a frame. Ramos collected the save, allowing three runs on three hits, three walks, and four strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings.

Bowling Green and Greensboro were scheduled to play game four of a six-game series on Friday.