Hot Rods drop third straight to Greensboro

Published 11:00 pm Thursday, April 24, 2025

By Micheal Compton

The bats remained quiet for the Bowling Green Hot Rods, who were blanked 2-0 by the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Thursday at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Despite a strong night from starting pitcher Gary Gill Hill, Bowling Green (8-10) was unable to take advantage, dropping a third straight to Greensboro. The Hot Rods – who were shut out for the first time this year – have scored one run in the last two games.

“It’s a very young group, so they are going to take a little bit of time to adjust to the league,” BG manager Rafael Valenzuela said. “I think our bats are getting a little bit better. Tonight we just couldn’t get anything going, but I feel like we are headed in the right direction – on the pitching side, defensively and on the offensive side. I’m excited to see how we bounce back tomorrow.”

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Hill, the Tampa Bay Rays’ No. 6 prospect according to Baseball America, had his best outing of the season with six scoreless innings. The right-hander scattered five hits, striking out four with no walks.

He worked out of a two on with one-out jam in the first and stranded two more runners in the fourth after Greensboro (14-4) opened the inning with two singles.

“He’s a special arm,” Valenzuela said. “He’s been lights out in his first couple of starts. It’s been really fun to watch. This is my first go-around to watch him pitch and every time he takes the mound I feel like we have a chance to win.”

Greensboro starter Kristian Curtis matched Hill with four scoreless innings and the bullpen took it from there. The Hot Rods put two runners on with no outs in the second, but were turned away. One inning later, Bowling Green put two runners on with two out, but the rally was snuffed again.

The Hot Rods stranded eight and finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

“We’ve run into some good arms, so credit to them for throwing the baseball well,” Valenzuela said. “We just have to keep it going. We just have to stay simple, slow the game down and when those opportunities show up, we’ve got to take advantage.”

The Grasshoppers finally broke through in the seventh off BG reliever Drew Dowd with an RBI double from Jesus Castillo. Greensboro added another run when Duce Gourson opened the eighth with a solo shot off the scoreboard in right field.

The Hot Rods had final chance in the ninth with a one-out double by Tony Santa Maria, but were unable to mount a comeback.

Bowling Green finished with five hits, with no batter recording a multi-hit game. Esmerlyn Valdez finished with three of Greensboro’s eight hits.

The series is scheduled to continue at 6:35 p.m. on Friday, with a 4:05 game scheduled for Saturday and the series finale scheduled for 1:05 p.m. on Sunday.

I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.

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