Trey Hair is on fire.

Well, maybe not on fire – hot, for sure.

Hair, the Bowling Green Hot Rods’ designated hitter Thursday night, came up with the go-ahead single in a 5-4 win over Kane County (Ill.) in a Midwest League matchup at Bowling Green Ballpark.

That comes just a day after Hair connected for his first home run as a Hot Rod in an otherwise dismal night for the team in a 9-2 loss to the Cougars.

The victory evened the three-game series against the Cougars, and Bowling Green (61-29) got another key contribution from Hair, a 34th-round pick out of the University of Evansville by the parent club Tampa Bay Rays in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft who joined the Hot Rods last month.

Hair won the matchup against Kane County reliever Kyler Stout, battling back from a 1-2 count to slash a line drive to center field that allowed Ronaldo Hernandez to score the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

“My first three ABs, I looked a little not settled in – chasing balls,” Hair said. “So I just really tried to take my two-strike approach and be short to the ball, and luckily it got up the middle and (Hernandez) with great base-running ended up scoring.”

The Hot Rods rallied for four runs in the bottom of the third against McKinley to grab a 4-1 lead. Hernandez had the big blow, smacking a two-run home run to left for his 15th homer of the season.

Kane County (45-45) chipped away from there, scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth against Hot Rods starter Tommy Romero.

It wasn’t the best start of the season for Romero, who has been stellar for Bowling Green since joining the team following a trade between the Rays and the Seattle Mariners in May. He was a late addition to the Midwest League Eastern Division All-Star team and has ranked among the circuit’s top starters this season.

Romero went five innings against the Cougars but left with a 4-3 lead after allowing three runs off seven hits and a pair of walks while striking out six.

“He’s been outstanding for us,” Hot Rods manager Craig Albernaz said. “Obviously today was one of his lesser outings for us, but he still went five innings and still battled. You could tell kind of in the second inning that he really didn’t have his best stuff, but he was grinding and battling the whole time. He kept us in the game.”

The Cougars knotted the score at 4 by scoring an unearned run off Hot Rods reliever in the seventh, but Hair put Bowling Green ahead for good in the eighth and gave teammate Tyler Zombro a chance to add to his impressive relief record this season.

Zombro finished up with two hitless innings to run his season record to 7-2, all out of the bullpen.

“It’s a testament to Zombro coming in and giving us length,” Albernaz said. “You don’t scoop up those wins as a reliever throwing one inning. You have to throw multiple innings, and that’s what Zombro’s been doing.”

An undrafted free-agent signee out of George Mason University, Zombro has had plenty of chances to pitch in the type of high-leverage situation he faced Thursday.

“I think it’s really neat in pro ball that everybody’s kind of on the same playing surface,” Zombro said. “Signing bonuses don’t matter, that kind of stuff doesn’t matter. Some of these international signs are extremely more talented than what they got paid. It’s cool just to go out there and play and none of that really factors into it.

“I’ve heard of some other organizations really putting some weight on those dollar figures and our organization doesn’t. That’s something you really grow to appreciate.”

Hernandez joined Taylor Walls and Jim Haley with two hits each to lead the Hot Rods.

RUDE WELCOME

Kane County starting pitcher Jayson McKinley made his first appearance back at Bowling Green Ballpark since the former Hot Rods reliever was released by the team last October.

McKinley was a pure reliever last season with the Hot Rods, but this year he’s functioned as a swingman and got the spot start on Thursday. It did not go well, as McKinley lasted just three innings and surrendered four earned runs off six hits while striking out two in a no-decision.

UP NEXT

The three-game series concludes Friday with a 6:35 p.m. matchup at Bowling Green Ballpark. The Hot Rods are scheduled to start left-hander Resly Linares (2-2, 4.62 ERA) with Kane County expected to counter with lefty Mack Lemieux (2-6, 3.74 ERA).{&end}