​SPARTANBURG, S.C. — After opening the week with a pair of wins over Hub City, the Hot Rods sprinted to a commanding early lead Thursday night. At the midway point of the fourth inning, the Spartanburgers trailed by eight, having surrendered four home runs across three innings. Hub City clawed back into the contest, getting within a single run, but ultimately fell 10-8 in a late rally that fell short.
Heading into the game, David Davalillo’s return to Hub City was a major storyline. Following stints in Double-A, Triple-A, and the Arizona Complex League this season, Davalillo appeared in High-A for the first time since June 13, 2025. The Rangers’ No. 7 prospect began in a scoreless top of the first, fanning two hitters. Jose Urbina, the Rays’ No. 17 prospect, answered with a quiet bottom of the first, retiring three on a three-batter frame.
Bowling Green’s offense came alive in the second, denting Davalillo early. After a one-out walk, a single, and an error loaded the bases, Aidan Smith ripped a homer onto the Spartanburg Community College berm, pushing the lead to 4-0. Urbina again faced the minimum in the inning, preserving the shutout.
In the third, Ryan McCoy doubled with one out and Noah Myers drove him in with a single, forcing Davalillo out of the game. Jesus Gamez came on for the Spartanburgers; after allowing two walks, he struck out two to escape the inning. Urbina yielded only a single in the bottom of the frame and used a double play to keep the ‘Burgers off the board.
Kamdyn Perry took the ball for Hub City in the fourth. Bowling Green’s Connor Hujsak opened the inning with a single, then an error on a pickoff attempt put a runner in scoring position. After Perry’s second strikeout of the frame, the Hot Rods rapped three straight doubles, scoring three runs and swelling the lead to 8-0.
Urbina’s dominance was interrupted in the fourth when Chandler Pollard doubled on the first pitch, and Yeison Morrobel crushed a homer off the top of the right-center field scoreboard. Two batters later, Luke Hanson doubled and Maxton Martin followed with a long homer to the video board. Five batters into the inning, the ‘Burgers had cut the deficit to 8-4. Urbina finished the inning, but that would be his last frame.
Bowling Green added an unearned run in the fifth off Perry, thanks to a walk, a two-base throwing error, and a sacrifice fly. Meanwhile, Hub City countered in the bottom half against Mason Nichols (W, 1-0) by capitalizing on an error that extended the frame. With one out, Cal Stark walked, Morrobel reached on a grounder that was misplayed by the second baseman, and the next hitter, Hector Osorio, clubbed a mammoth blast over the deepest part of the outfield fence in right-center, the ball disappearing well beyond the fence for a towering homer that extended the lead again, before the inning ended. The late burst kept the game tight, but the Hot Rods’ early push proved insurmountable.