Hot Rods walk off Cyclones twice in doubleheader sweep
Published 11:00 pm Saturday, May 9, 2026
Bowling Green’s Tony Santa Maria bats during the Hotrods game against Brooklyn on Thursday, May 7, 2026 at Bowling Green Ballpark in Bowling Green, Ky. (Caleb Lowndes / Daily News) (Caleb Lowndes)
Tony Santa Maria and Ricardo Gonzalez delivered in a big way for the Bowling Green Hot Rods in a doubleheader sweep over the Brooklyn Cyclones in South Atlantic League action on Saturday at Bowling Green Ballpark.
Santa Maria’s walk-off single rounded out a 7-6 win in 10 innings in Game 1. Gonzalez crushed a walk-off home run, sealing a 6-5 win in Game 2.
In Game 1, the Cyclones (8-23) nabbed the lead in the top of the first inning against Hot Rods starting pitcher Garrett Gainey. John Bay singled, moved to third on a Corey Collins single and scored on a Gainey balk to give Brooklyn a 1-0 lead.
Bowling Green (22-11) evened the game with one run in the bottom of the third inning against Brooklyn starting pitcher Noah Hall. Adrian Santana mashed a solo shot to right field, knotting the game at 1-1.
The Hot Rods snatched the lead with three runs off Hall in the bottom of the fourth inning. Emilien Pitre doubled and Santa Maria walked to start the inning. Connor Hujsak smacked a go-ahead three-run home run to left-center field, handing the Hot Rods a 4-1 edge.
Brooklyn pulled one run back against Gainey in the top of the sixth inning. Bay lifted a solo home run to center field, reducing Bowling Green’s advantage to 4-2.
The Cyclones completed their comeback in the top of the seventh inning against reliever Jacob Kmatz. Colin Houck led off with a single, setting up Vincent Perozo for a game-tying two-run home run, knotting the game at 4-4. The Hot Rods failed to tally a run in the bottom of the seventh, bringing the game to extra innings.
Both teams traded runs in the eighth. Brooklyn took a 5-4 lead on a Bay infield single, and Bowling Green tied the game on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch drawn by Tom Poole.
The Cyclones regained the lead in the top of the ninth inning. Houck started as Brooklyn’s extra-innings runner. He moved to third on a groundout and scored on a Perozo single one pitch later, handing the Cyclones a 6-5 advantage.
Bowling Green evened the score in the bottom of the ninth against right-hander Felix Cepeda. Santana laced an RBI double to left-center field, plating Jose Perez and tying the game at 6-6.
Reliever Ryan Andrade blanked the Cyclones in the top of the 10th inning with some help from his defense. With extra-innings runner Yonatan Henriquez at third base, Santa Maria fielded a Bay ground ball to first and fired home to catch Henriquez out.
Santa Maria slapped a walk-off RBI single to lead off the bottom of the 10th, clinching a 7-6 win.
Andrade (2-0) earned the win, allowing one unearned run in two innings, striking out two batters. Cepeda (0-2) was charged with the loss, surrendering two unearned runs on three hits in an inning.
Bowling Green jumped ahead in Game 2 in the bottom of the second inning against Brooklyn reliever Parker Carlson. Poole logged a single, J.D. Gonzalez drilled a double to set up runners at second and third. Ryan McCoy belted a three-run home run to left-center field for a 3-0 advantage.
The Hot Rods snagged another run off the Cyclones’ bullpen in the bottom of the third inning. Narciso Polanco connected for a two-out double and moved to third on a wild pitch. Poole walked and Tanner Witt entered to pitch for the Cyclones. A Witt wild pitch brought in Polanco, making it 4-0 Hot Rods.
Brooklyn pulled one run back against Andrew Lindsey in the top of the fourth. Henriquez blasted a leadoff home run to right field, cutting the Bowling Green advantage 4-1.
The Hot Rods plated one more run against Witt in the bottom of the fifth inning. Santana led off with a single, Theo Gillen worked a walk and Nathan Flewelling tagged a single into center field. Polanco grounded into a 6-3 double play which scored Santana, boosting Bowling Green’s lead to 5-1.
The Cyclones tagged another two runs off Lindsey in the top of the sixth inning. Sam Biller singled, Henriquez replaced him at first on a fielder’s choice, and Ronald Hernandez crushed a two-run home run to right field to trim the Bowling Green lead to 5-3.
Brooklyn tied the contest in the top of the seventh inning against Andy Rodriguez. Daiverson Gutierrez hit a double and Trace Willhoite connected on a two-run home run to left-center field, evening the game at 5-5.
Ricardo Gonzalez put the Hot Rods in the win column in the bottom of the seventh inning, launching a walk-off home run to right-center field off Juan Arnaud, clinching a 6-5 win.
Rodriguez (1-1) earned the victory, allowing two runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings, fanning four. Arnaud (2-1) took the loss, giving one run on one hit in an inning, walking one and striking out one.
The Hot Rods and Cyclones close their six-game series Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. Trevor Harrison (0-0, 4.76 ERA) starts for Bowling Green, while Brooklyn’s starter is still to be announced.