MOBILE, Ala. - A 3-2 lead with two outs in the top of the ninth evaporated as the BayBears fall to the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx for the third consecutive night, 6-5 on Saturday at Hank Aaron Stadium.
Just one strike away from a save, Daniel Stange (0-2) allowed Brent Johnson to reach on an infield single while Pedro Ciriaco's throwing error put Johnson on second. The next hitter, Leury Bonilla, cracked a single to right as Johnson scored the tying run. After a walk, Ezequiel Carrera put the Jaxx (30-46, 3-3) on top with a two-run double while Greg Halman made it 6-3 with another run-scoring two-bagger.
Phillipe Aumont (S, 1) made the contest even more interesting in the bottom of the ninth as he walked James Skelton with one out and Evan Frey with two. Ciriaco laid down a bunt single while Aumont threw the ball down the right field line, allowing Skelton and Frey to scamper home. Bryan Byrne followed that with a chopper to short, and he was thrown out at first to keep the BayBears (40-36, 3-3) from coming back.
Matt Torra was strong for the BayBears in his second start of the series as he lasted 7 1/3 innings while coughing up just two runs. The first scored in the third as Bonilla doubled and came home on a base hit by Mel Stocker. The BayBears quickly got that tally back in the home half of the third as Mark Hallberg extended his team-high hit streak to 11 with a single and took third on a fielding error by Marshall Hubbard. Byrne's sac fly knotted the score at 1-1.
That's how it stayed until the seventh when Hallberg singled with two away and moved up on a double by Frey off the glove of a diving Halman in left-center. Ciriaco's two-strike hit against Ricky Orta (1-1) brought in both baserunners, giving the BayBears their only advantage of the night.
West Tenn managed to get one back in the eighth before their ninth-inning rally. Steve Bray started for the Jaxx and worked through six without allowing an earned run.
The BayBears begin a six-game set with the Birmingham Barons on Sunday night at Regions Park. Wes Roemer (3-4, 3.61) toes the rubber in the contest that commences at 5:05 p.m. The BayBears return to Mobile for Independence Day, Saturday, July 4, as they'll host the Chattanooga Lookouts at 7:05 p.m. For Hank Aaron Stadium tickets, call (251) 479-BEAR or log on to www.mobilebaybears.com.
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