After losing game two at home to the Baysox by a score of 10-3, the Reading Fightin Phils took game three in Bowie by a 9-3 score, putting them one win away from their first outright Eastern League Championship since 1995. Top pitching prospect Jake Thompson spun seven strong innings and outfielder Nick Williams scored two runs and drove in two in Reading's six-run victory.
The Fightin Phils got on the board with a run in the third. KC Serna singled and reached second on an error. Nick Williams followed with a groundout, moving Serna to third, and then J.P. Crawford plated the first run with a sacrifice fly to left field. They added on two more in the fourth. With one down, Cam Perkins walked and Dylan Cozens singled. Two batters later, Harold Martinez laced a double to right, scoring both Perkins and Cozens and extending the lead to 3-0. In the top of the fifth, Nick Williams made it a 4-0 game with a lead-off solo home run, his third of the postseason.
Reading blew the game open in the sixth with a five-spot. With two men on and none out, Nick Williams singled to center to score Harold Martinez and make it 5-0. J.P. Crawford walked to load the bases and one batter later, Andrew Knapp smacked a two-run ground rule double to drive in Williams and Martinez. Brock Stassi grounded out to drive in another run and Angelo Mora hit a sacrifice fly to put Reading's ninth run on the board, 9-0.
Bowie got a run in the sixth and two in the ninth. Quincy Latimore hit an RBI-single in the sixth while Tucker Nathans homered in the ninth. Ozzie Martinez knocked in the other run in the ninth with a single.
Through five innings, Jake Thompson had only allowed a hit. He finished the game after seven innings, allowing just one run on four hits. He struck out five and walked through. Thompson thre 97 pitches, 65 for strikes. Reinier Roibal pitched a scoreless inning in relief and closer Stephen Shackleford allowed two runs, one earned, in the ninth inning.
Offensively, Nick Williams finished the night going 2-for-6 with a homer, two runs scored and two RBI's. J.P. Crawford continued to hit well, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored to go along with a walk. Meanwhile, third baseman Harold Martinez went 2-for-4 on the night with a double, a run scored an two RBI's.
For Bowie, starter Chris Lee left after just four innings, allowed four runs, three earned. On the offensive side of things, Garabez Rosa went 2-for4 with a run scored.
The Fightin Phils will look to close out the Eastern League Championship Series tonight in Bowie. Game four will feature a pitching matchup between Ben Lively and David Hess. Lively earned the win in game three of the division series against Binghamton. He tossed five innings of two-run ball, striking out six. Hess hurled seven shutout innings in Bowie's divisional series against Altoona.
