FREDERICK, MD – The Ghost Hounds bullpen woes continued on Sunday afternoon as a five run eighth inning by the Rockers allowed them to sneak out a 6-5 win over Spire City.

The scoring got started in the top of the first inning. After Ben Aklinski singled and stole second base, he then scored on a base hit by Quincy Lattimore to put High Point up 1-0.

The Rockers came inches shy of more insurance in the third inning, when Zander Wiel hit a deep fly ball to the left field wall, but Steven Brault took the home run away with a leaping grab.

The Ghost Hounds would get their answer to lead off the bottom of the third inning when Osvaldo Abreu took Mickey Jannis deep to right center field to even the score at one.

In the fourth inning, Brault added a pair of runs with a two-run shot to right center. It was Brault’s first home run at home, and pushed the Ghost Hounds lead to 3-1.

In the fifth with a runner on, Jimmy Paredes had the green light on a 3-0 pitch, and drove one out to right field for a two-run blast. Suddenly it was 5-1 Ghost Hounds.

The game remained scoreless for the next few innings, which included John Witkowski working out of a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning.

But in the top of the eighth inning, the Ghost Hounds bullpen struggles reared their heads again. With two outs and the bases loaded, Shed Long Jr tied the game with a grand slam to center field, knotting the game up at five. Two batters later, Lattimore knocked in another run, his sixth of the series, and pushed the Rockers ahead 6-5.

Jeff Johnson struck out the side in the ninth, but the Ghost Hounds stranded the tying run at second base in the bottom half to fall 6-5.

Notes:

• Matt Reitz got the start for the Ghost Hounds, throwing five innings of one run baseball while striking out three. John Witkowski added two scoreless innings with four strikeouts in relief of Reitz