By Noah Adcock-Howeth

The Blowfish dropped a back and forth affair with the Bacon 8-7 last night, losing back to back games for the first time in the 2nd half of the season.

On a night that saw two late-game rain delays in Georgia, the Blowfish bullpen gave up 5 unanswered runs late to watch a lead slip away and squander a career night for catcher Ryan Ouzts.

Ouzts went a perfect 4-4 at the dish, and homered in each of his first 3 at bats. He finished with 4 RBIs, 3 runs scored, and 13 total bases while extending his hit streak to 9 games, the highest by any Blowfish player in 2023.

Andrew Duval got the start for the Blowfish, and went 5 strong innings against a Bacon offense that can seemingly score at will when playing at home. Duval gave up 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits with 3 strikeouts, and left with the lead.

At the middle of the 6th, the Blowfish led 7-3 behind 3 homers from Ouzts, a wild pitch, and 2 double steals that brought men home from 3rd. Unfortunately for the Lexington County faithful, the bullpen could not hold the lead. Macon answered right back with 3 runs off of Alex Lyon, who struggled to stay out of the heart of the zone in his 4th appearance of the season against the Bacon. Macon tacked on two more in the 7th to take the lead, which they would never relinquish.

Lexington County put the tying run on with nobody out in the 9th thanks to an Ouzts single, which came after rain delays before both the bottom of the 8th and the top of the 9th. The Bacon bullpen tightened up in the nick of time, however, and retired the next 3 batters without incident to send the Blowfish back home in defeat.

Lexington County will look to avenge the loss tonight at home, as they battle the Bacon once more with first place in the Western Division on the line. Bennett Sloper will toe the mound for the Blowfish, while Jonathan Kozasky is the expected starter for Macon. First pitch is at 7:05, and tickets are still available online at goblowfish.com or by calling 803-254-3474.