SL1 Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

Late Life Lifts Suns to 6-2 Win over Wahoos

July 19, 2014 - Southern League (SL1)
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp News Release


JACKSONVILLE, FL - A three-run homer from Austin Barnes in the seventh inning put the Jacksonville Suns (17-11, 53-45) up for good, as the Suns earned the series victory and clinched the Golden Skillet with a 6-2 win over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (10-19, 41-58) on Saturday night from Bragan Field.

Hear manager Andy Barkett's postgame comments here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?vyWdXsfLoyi0

Justin Nicolino didn't factor into the decision after allowing a pair of unearned runs on six hits in six innings of work. He didn't walk a single batter and set a new season-high with five strikeouts on Saturday night.

Frankie Reed (W, 1-0) collected the victory for Jacksonville after tossing a 1-2-3 top of the seventh inning, striking out one batter in his scoreless inning.

Steve Ames (H, 1) held Pensacola without a run in his hitless inning of relief, walking and striking out one Wahoo each.

Nick Wittgren finished off the game in a non-save situation by retiring the Wahoos in order in the top of the ninth, finishing with one strikeout.

James Walczak (BS, 4; L, 2-5) blew the save and took the loss after allowing four runs (all earned) in 1.1 innings of work, surrendering two hits and three walks while not striking out a single Suns batter.

The game remained scoreless until Pensacola opened up the scoring with two runs in the top of the fifth. Juan Duran came down to score on a Ross Perez fielder's choice and the Wahoos added their second run on Brodie Green's two-out RBI single to make it a 2-0 Wahoos lead in the top of the fifth inning.

Jacksonville did not have an answer until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Austin Barnes (HR, 1) drilled a go-ahead three-run home run to left to give the Suns their first lead of the game at 3-2 after seven innings.

The Suns added to their lead with three more runs in the bottom of the eighth. Brady Shoemaker's two-run double and Terrence Dayleg's sacrifice fly gave Jacksonville a 6-2 lead after eight innings, capping off the scoring on Saturday night.

With the win, the Suns have earned themselves a series victory with one more game to play and have also won the season series against Pensacola, meaning that the Suns have won the Golden Skillet over their in-state rivals in each of the past three seasons.

The Suns and Blue Wahoos will be back at it on Sunday, with first pitch set for 3:05 p.m. ET. Jacksonville is set to throw out right-hander Jose Urena (7-7, 4.24), while the Blue Wahoos will counter with a righty of their own in Michael Lorenzen (4-4, 2.45).

Suns fans can listen to Sunday's game on the Suns Baseball Network, 94.1 WSOS-FM or through www.jaxsuns.com, MiLB.com or the Suns iPhone or Android app, beginning at 2:35 p.m. ET with the Memorial Hospital Suns Pregame Show on Suns Sunday. Additionally, fans can watch the Jacksonville Suns live in HD on CW 17 (cable channel 435) with Suns broadcaster Roger Hoover and Suns President & Owner Peter Bragan, Jr. bringing you all the action from Sunday's contest.

The 2014 season of Suns baseball is presented by EverBank, the official banking partner of the Jacksonville Suns. Sponsorships, group outings, and season / individual game tickets are currently available by calling the Suns front office at (904) 358-2846.

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Southern League Stories from July 19, 2014


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