BUMS COMEBACK FALLS SHORT AGAINST WASHINGTON

TRAVERSE CITY, MI- The Traverse City Beach Bums (35-46) trailed the Washington Wild Things (46-35), 7-0 in the fourth, but a late comeback attempt came up a run short, as the Bums dropped Thursday night’s series finale, 7-6.

Washington got on the board in the first when Hector Roa picked up an RBI sacrifice fly and Kyle Pollock drove in a run on a single. Roman Collins smacked a sacrifice fly in the second for a 3-0 Washington lead. In the top of the fourth, Washington sent nine men to the plate, scoring four more runs. Reydel Medina hit a two run double, Mike Hill drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, and Pollock hit an RBI single for a 7-0 lead.

In the bottom of the inning, the Beach Bums started the comeback trail. Steve Lohr led off with a double then Alexis Rivera drove him home with his first triple of the year. Noah McGowan followed with an RBI ground out to pull Traverse City within five.  From there the game went scoreless until the ninth.

Alexis Rivera led off the inning with a walk and McGowan followed by getting hit by a pitch. Alec Olund drove in the inning’s first run with a single into centerfield, scoring Rivera and moving McGowan to second. Two batters later, Ryan Kemp walked, then, with the Bums down to their last strike, Isaac Benard smashed a double down the left field line, scoring two, making it 7-5. With Kengor at the plate, Kemp scored on a wild pitch, but the rally ended there.

Michael Austin earned the win for Washington to improve to 2-2 on the season. He went six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits. Luke DeVenney suffered the loss for Traverse City. He went three innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and three walks to fall to 1-4. Zach Strecker got the last two out of the game, allowing a walk and a hit for his 18^th save of the season.

On Friday, the Beach Bums hit the road for their last road trip of the season, a nine-game excursion to the three Chicago area teams, starting with the Joliet Slammers. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05pm and Tom Willms will have the call, starting with the Budweiser pregame show, at 7:45. You can listen along from anywhere in the world at TCBeachBums.com.

The Beach Bums return home on Wednesday, August 29 against the Joliet Slammers. Wednesdays in 2018 are Double Header Nights, offering fans a chance to watch TWO games for the price of ONE! Gates open at 4:00pm -- First pitch set for 5:05pm. Arrive early to sign up for between inning contests! For information and tickets, go to TCBeachBums.com or call the office at (231) 943-0100.