Barons Rally Past M-Braves with Four-Run Eighth
Published on June 25, 2012 under Southern League (SL1)
Birmingham Barons News Release
Birmingham, AL - The Birmingham Barons let an early 5-0 lead slip away before breaking a 5-5 tie with four runs in the eighth to rally past the Mississippi Braves 9-5 Monday afternoon in front of 3,239 fans at Regions Park.
The Barons took a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI single by Damaso Espnino. The lead ballooned to 5-0 in the third on an RBI double by Jose Martinez, an RBI single by Erik Morrison and a two-run home run by Seth Loman, his team-leading 11th long ball of the season. All five runs came against Mississippi starter Sean Gilmartin who allowed eight hits over 5.0 innings.
Barons' starter Pedro Hernandez pitched well in his first start since coming off the disabled list. The southpaw tossed 4.0 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out two. He was removed after the fourth due to pitch count.
Matt Wickswat relieved Hernandez and pitched a scoreless fifth before running into trouble in the sixth inning. The Braves loaded the bases with no out and after a catchers interference call plated the Braves' first run, Todd Cunningham roped a bases clearing double to left center to cut the Barons lead to one at 5-4.
The Braves would tie the game two innings later on another Cunningham double, this time against reliever Ryan Kussmaul. He would finish the game 2-for-4 with four RBI.
The Barons would win the game with four runs in the bottom of the inning, scoring twice on a bloop double by Jake Oester, his first hit and RBI since returning to the Barons. The Barons would tack on two more runs in the inning for the winning margin of 9-5.
The win went to Kussmaul (1-1, 1.62) while the loss went to Brent Leach (0-1, 9.00). The win gave the Barons a series victory and improved their record to 33-41, 3-2 in the second half.
The Barons travel to Kodak Tennessee tomorrow to take on the Tennessee Smokies. RHP Cameron Bayne (5-7, 6.78) will take the hill for the Barons in game one against RHP Nick Struck (8-6, 3.90). First pitch is schedule for 6:15 PM CDT.
Southern League Stories from June 25, 2012
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