Birds lose heartbreaker at Y-D

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After rain added three days to what was meant to be a one-game All-Star break for the Birds, they were finally back in action at Red Wilson Field on Tuesday night.

Fresh off the three-day break from their pitching at All-Star, Callen Fang (Harvard) and Cody Bowker (Georgetown), got the nod against the league-leading Red Sox.

Fang, as he has done all summer, showcased his short-term memory on the mound after Anthony Martinez (UC Irvine) sent a two-run shot over the centerfield wall.

The Harvard standout bounced back from Martinez's homer by throwing four scoreless innings and retiring 11 of the next 13 hitters he faced. Fang also added six strikeouts to improve his total to 39, which is good for league best.

Despite Fang's lights-out play from the mound, the Orleans offense was shaking off the rust accumulated from four consecutive off days.

Come the fifth inning, the Birds may not have been sending baseballs out of the park, or hitting loud doubles, but Landon Moran (Stetson) and Lorenzo Meola (Stetson) strung together two productive at-bats, and both reached on walks with no outs.

Hudson Shupe (Gonzaga) followed in the order, and did his job, sending a ground ball into left to put Moran and Meola in scoring position.

With a chance to get the Birds on the scoreboard, Chris Barr (Army) put together a productive at-bat of his own, earning a walk to force Moran home.

Barr's walk cued the end of the line for Y-D's Carson Ballard (Georgia Tech), who was relieved by Caleb Williams (Rice) out of the bullpen.

The pitching change didn't have an immediate impact, with the Birds continuing to have success at the plate. Ian Daugherty (Oklahoma State), promptly shot a ground ball through the 5-6 hole, which sent Meola home to tie the game at two.

After Ben Zeigler (Hawaii) earned the second RBI walk of the inning for Orleans which put the Birds up 3-2, Y-D's manager Scott Pickler made his second pitching change of the inning.

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Ben Zeigler on his way to first after his RBI walk gave the Birds a late 3-2 lead|Art or Photo Credit: Sophia Soropoulos

Caleb Anderson checked onto the mound for the Red Sox, and quickly stopped the bleeding, retiring Robbie Ayers (Loyola Marymount)

Heading into the bottom of the sixth, Miles Gozstola (Gonzaga) came out of the bullpen after another dominant outing from Callen Fang, and only faced two hitters.

Following Gozstola's quick stint on the mound, Cody Bowker, who normally plays the role of starter, checked in as a reliever out of the pen.

Bowker, who hasn't seen any action past the seventh inning this summer, kept the game scoreless through the eighth and gave the Birds a chance to score some insurance runs with the heart of the Red Sox order due up in the bottom of the ninth.

With the Birds unable to add a cushion to their one-run lead, Y-D took advantage. After the tying run reached third and the winning stood on first, Orleans manager Kelly Nicholson called upon Tucker Biven (Louisville) to close the game.

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Tucker Biven on the mound|Art or Photo Credit: Sophia Soropoulos

One strike away from sending the Birds back to Orleans with a big win, Biven delivered his sixth pitch of the at-bat, which Ryan Sprock (Elon) sent into right to bring in the tying run. With the game-winning run now 90 from home, Carter Garate (Oregon) placed a bunt down the first base line, which commenced the Y-D walk-off win.

The heartbreaking loss pushes Orleans back out of the playoff picture. But just a game back, the Birds will look to respond in a big way as they return to Eldredge for a twice-postponed matchup against the Cotuit Kettleers.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:30.