​SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) — The Hub City Spartanburgers were shut out by the Bowling Green Hot Rods 4-0 in the final game of their series Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Park. After Hub City (6-15, 40-47) earned a one-run victory the previous day, the ‘Burgers faced a Bowling Green (13-8, 60-26) pitching performance that bordered on perfection.
Bowling Green starter Jacob Kisting (W, 5-0) set the tone by holding Spartanburg without a baserunner through the first five innings. Hub City starter DJ McCarty (L, 2-5) matched him with a scoreless first inning, but the game began to tilt in the Hot Rods’ favor in the second. Carlos Colmenarez launched a line-drive home run to put Bowling Green on the board, and McCarty then retired seven straight batters, including four consecutive strikeouts.
The visitors extended their lead into the fourth. With one out, McCarty walked Noah Myers and hit Colmenarez, setting the table for a Jhon Diaz double to the right-field corner that scored Myers. Colmenarez came home on a Larry Martinez sacrifice fly, making it 3-0 in favor of Bowling Green. McCarty finished his day with five innings, leaving the mound scoreless in the fifth.
Cole Roland then came on to pitch a clean sixth inning for Spartanburg. The ’Burgers finally broke up Kisting’s bid for a perfect game in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Carter Garate singled up the middle and moved to second on a wild pitch, but he would be left stranded.
Jose Perez ignited the seventh with a ground-rule double and moved to third on a flyout before scoring on Narciso Polanco’s single, trimming the deficit to 4-1. Still leading by a four-run margin, Bowling Green sent Kisting back to the mound for the seventh. After two outs and two runners on, Noah Beal came on and induced a strikeout to keep Spartanburg off the board.
Owen Proksch delivered a one-two-three top of the eighth for the Spartanburgers, and Jesus Gamez navigated around a single to strike out the side in the ninth. Beal then struck out all three hitters in the eighth for Bowling Green, and Jonathan Russell worked the ninth for the Hot Rods.
Down to their final outs, the Spartanburgers loaded the bases with a Luke Hanson double and two walks, but a strikeout and a flyout ended the game without a run crossing the plate. The result sealed Bowling Green’s 4-0 win and left Spartanburg still seeking a breakthrough victory.
Looking ahead, the Spartanburgers will enjoy a four-day All-Star Break beginning Monday. When action resumes, Hub City returns to Fifth Third Park for a two-week stretch that includes a three-game home series against the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The series opener is scheduled for Friday night at 7:05 p.m. ET, and fans can expect an action-packed weekend of minor-league baseball as Spartanburg aims to climb back into the standings.
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