Sports
Baysox Notebook: Hoes Heats Up With Bat, Sparks Bowie Offense
Avery also finding his way at plate, giving Baysox some offensive punch.
Bowie native L.J. Hoes is officially on a roll and helping his hometown team.
Hoes struggled at first when coming to the Baysox recently. But he’s been hitting much better lately, batting .410 in his last 10 games, capped by a five-hit effort in the .
The only bad news for Hoes is that . Hitters who are hot never like to miss games, and that might be the only thing that could stop him right now.
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Hoes is 16-for-39 in his last 10 games. That improved his batting average to .281 through his first 25 games with the Baysox—he had just a .241 average with Class A Frederick before moving up to Bowie.
He’s been on fire in recent games, going 9-for-14 in his last three contests. Hoes went 2-for-4 against Richmond and then 2-for-5 the following game.
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Hoes then trumped all of that with a 5-for-5 effort in the loss on Tuesday at New Britain. The big question now is how long he can keep up that roll.
The Baysox certainly can use the offensive help as they’ve struggled at the plate in a variety of ways all season long.
ALSO HOT
Center fielder Xavier Avery also has found his touch at the plate in the last several games.
He went 7-for-15 in the last three games. That increased the speedy outfielder's average to .265 on the season.
The Orioles probably want Avery to work a little more on patience at the plate. He’s usually the team’s leadoff hitter, and anyone batting high in the lineup must be able to draw walks.
But Avery has struggled in that area. He’s struck out 77 times and drawn just 19 walks.
If Avery can improve in that area, that will make him more dangerous as a leadoff hitter and let him use his very strong speed on the basepaths.
SHORT BREAK
Bowie will host Binghamton in a brief three-game homestand this weekend. The Baysox and Mets play on Friday and Saturday nights before finishing the series on Sunday afternoon at 2:05 p.m.
After that, the Baysox hit the road once more for seven games. The month of July is a bit kinder to Bowie with more home games, but the Baysox have had to battle through a tough stretch in recent days.
The All-Star break comes on July 12-13 with the game being played in New Hampshire.
