Conley Dominates for Suns in 7-2 Win
Published on May 11, 2013 under Southern League (SL1)
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp News Release
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Adam Conley faced the minimum over six innings of work and Jake Marisnick hit his first Southern League home run as the Jacksonville Suns (20-12) beat the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (12-21) in the finale of a five-game series 7-2.
Conley (2-1) allowed only a bunt single and did not walk a batter over his six frames, earning his second straight win in front of 4,563 fans at Bragan Field at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
"[Conley] had electric stuff tonight," said Suns manager Andy Barkett following his club's fourth straight win over Pensacola. "He was throwing strikes early in the game. He cranked it up a notch and was as sharp as we've seen him."
As was the case on Friday night, the Suns and Blue Wahoos waged a scoreless battle through the first four innings, but on Saturday Jacksonville didn't wait until the ninth to put a dent in the scoreboard. Facing Pensacola starter Tim Crabbe (2-2) Noah Perio reached on first baseman Travis Mattair's fielding error to begin the bottom of the fifth and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Christian Yelich to put the Suns ahead 1-0.
Marisnick then approached the plate with two outs and smacked a Crabbe offering over the left field wall for a solo home run, the first Double-A round-tripper of his professional career.
"To see him get on the board, to get that monkey off his back was nice," Barkett said. "Hopefully he can carry on some momentum."
Not to be outdone, Kyle Jensen stepped in as the very next hitter and crushed a no-doubter to left to complete the back-to-back home run outburst.
"Hitting is contagious because guys become confident," Barkett said. "They see their buddy do something good, and they feel like they can, and people feed off of that"
Up 3-0, the Suns added one more run in the inning after Ryan Fisher doubled and scored on Mark Canha's RBI single.
The runs were more than enough for Conley, who allowed his only base runner of the entire night when Devin Lohman laid down a perfect bunt with one out in the fifth. Lohman was promptly erased off the base paths by J.T. Realmuto, who threw a strike to second base to catch the Blue Wahoo's shortstop stealing.
Pensacola's only run came courtesy of Bryson Smith's leadoff homer in the seventh against Scott McGough. They threatened again in the eighth, but Yelich made a tremendous running catch to rob David Vidal of a run-scoring hit and end the inning.
The Suns added three insurance runs in the bottom half, getting RBI's from Perio, Yelich and Marisnick to open up a 7-1 lead. Pensacola added their second run in the top of the ninth before Michael Brady finished the game, giving the Suns their 20th win of the 2013 season.
Jacksonville boarded a bus immediately following the game to begin a ten-game road trip, starting in Mobile and ending in Mississippi. The Suns start their five-game series with the Mobile BayBears on Sunday, with Jay Jackson (1-0) scheduled to take the hill. The BayBears will counter with left-hander Andrew Chafin (0-1, 1.50). First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. ET.
Suns fans can listen to Sunday's game on the Suns Baseball Network, 94.1 WSOS-FM, or through jaxsuns.com, MiLB.com or the Suns iPhone or Android app, beginning at 5:35 p.m. with Suns Sunday on the UF and Shands Suns Pre-Game Show.
Southern League Stories from May 11, 2013
- Stars Drop Series Finale With Generals - Huntsville Stars
- Conley Dominates for Suns in 7-2 Win - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- M-Braves Win 5-4 in Extras - Mississippi Braves
- Suns Walk off on Wahoos 1-0 - Pensacola Blue Wahoos
- Wahoos Drop Fourth Straight, Lose 7-2 to Suns - Pensacola Blue Wahoos
- Offense Explodes As Jackson Takes Series From Stars - Jackson Generals
- Late-Inning Run Sends Smokies to 5-4 Win over Birmingham - Knoxville Smokies
- Chattanooga defeats Mobile - Chattanooga Lookouts
- Mathis' MLB Rehab Assignment transferred to Triple-A New Orleans - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Generals Game Information - Jackson Generals
- Schlosser Wins Fourth Straight as M-Braves Roll Biscuits 8-2 - Mississippi Braves
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