Bowling Green Hot Rods second baseman Hunter Haas (12) runs home on a triple in the Hot Rods’ 8-3 win over the Winston-Salem Dash at the BG Ballpark on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. (Grace Ramey/grace.ramey@bgdailynews.com)

Hunter Haas smacked his first home run of the season, but the Bowling Green Hot Rods were outhit in an 8-5 loss to the Jersey Shore BlueClaws on Friday at ShoreTown Ballpark in Lakewood, New Jersey.

In the top of the first inning, Bowling Green (13-12) plated two runs off Jersey Shore starter Eiberson Castellano. Cooper Kinney walked, Xavier Isaac singled and Brock Jones walked to load the bases. Haas beat out an infield single to score Kinney from third and make it a 1-0 ballgame. Isaac scored on from third on a wild pitch to extend the lead 2-0.

After the BlueClaws (12-13) scored two runs in the bottom of the second, The Hot Rods scratched another run across against Castellano in the top of the third. Chandler Simpson singled and stole second and third to put a runner in scoring position. A throwing error from Jersey Shore third baseman Felix Reyes allowed Simpson to score, putting Bowling Green up 3-2.

Jersey Shore tied it up again in the bottom of the fourth and took the lead on a solo home run by Cade Fergus off Bowling Green starter Roel Garcia.

The BlueClaws extended the lead to 8-4 with four runs in the bottom of the seventh against Hot Rods reliever Jake Christianson. 

Haas blistered a two-run home run off BlueClaws reliever Wesley Moore in the top of the eighth, but went scoreless in the ninth to lose, 8-5.

Trey Dillard (1-0) snatched the win, giving up two hits and striking out one over 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Garcia (1-1) took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits, two walks with four strikeouts over six innings. Daniel Harper locked down the save, allowing a hit and striking out one in a shutout ninth.

The Hot Rods and the BlueClaws play the penultimate of a six-game series on Saturday with first pitch set for 3:05 p.m. CT. Right-hander Trevor Martin (2-1, 3.71) starts for Bowling Green, while lefty Braeden Fausnaught (2-0, 1.74) takes the ball for Jersey Shore.