Soccer Dad

25th Save

Last night I made my annual Bowie trip with the children. It was a rather good game.
The Baysox were promoting that two of their players were on the verge of breaking single season records. Walter Young has 31 home runs; one more and he would break Calvin Pickering's single season record for Bowie. Jacobo Sequea was set to break Gabe Molina's record of 24 saves in a season.
The Baysox outhit Akron by a lot and had a 3-1 lead going into the eighth. Looked good for the save. Jeff Wilson, one of my favorites, though gave up a 2 run homer. Didn't look good for the save opportunity. Then, in the bottom of the inning, Mike Huggins hit a home run to left field, giving the ball to Sequea. He pitched an efficient ninth, getting 3 fly ball outs. I took the picture above as Sequea delivered the final pitch of the game. (Sorry it's dark; I have a lot to learn with Digital Camera settings.)
Walter Young didn't get that 32nd home run but he had a good game. What really impressed me was his fielding. He's a man-mountain, but it looks like he gets around very quickly. He scooped out a low throw nicely. And in the last inning he caught a popup with his back to the infield. Nicely done. (I wonder if Young's success spells the end of Jack Cust's tenure in the Orioles organization.)
The irony of the evening is that BJ Ryan who was acquired by the Orioles along with Sequa (from the Reds for Juan Guzman ), had a bad night. Ryan gave up a 3 run homer with two outs in the ninth for the O's to lose their 9th straight.