SL1 Birmingham Barons

Record Crowd Sees Barons Fall in 11, 3-2

Published on April 13, 2003 under Southern League (SL1)
Birmingham Barons News Release


BIRMINGHAM, AL – The Birmingham Barons lost their fifth one-run game of the season and second in a row to the Carolina Mudcats by a score of 3-2 in front of a standing room only crowd of 13,262 fans at the Hoover Met on Sunday afternoon. The crowd was the fifth largest overall and most on a Sunday to watch a Barons game in the 16-year history of the Hoover Met. The three-day weekend total of 23,235 fans also ranked as the sixth largest weekend attendance at the Met and the second largest since 1994, the year Michael Jordan pushed up attendance marks across the league.

Carolina got on the board first by plating two runs off of Barons starter Jim Bullard in the visiting half of the fifth. Wilson Valdez singled home a run and Miguel Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly to push across another to make the score 2-0 early on.

The score stayed that way until the bottom of the eighth when the Barons knotted the score at 2-2. After Juan Piniella flied out to start the inning, Mudcat reliever Steve Kent walked Ryan Hankins and Carlos Maldonaldo to put runners at first and second. First baseman Gabe Alvarez then doubled home Hankins to cut the lead in half and Scott Bikowski tied it up with sacrifice fly that plated Danny Sandoval who had come on to pitch run for Maldonaldo.

Play would continue until the 11th when Carolina scored the deciding run on a fielding error by Barons shortstop Josh Shaffer that allowed Cabrera to score.

Carolina reliever Donnie Bridges (2-0) picked up the victory after throwing 2.0 scoreless innings and Clay Eason (0-1) absorbed his first loss of the season despite not giving up an earned run. Carolina won the three game series 2-1.

The Barons next opponent, division-rival Mobile, comes to town tomorrow to begin a four-game series. The Barons send out lefty Corwin Malone (1-0, 2.70) to face Baybears right-hander Steve Watkins (0-1, 4.00).

For more information please contact Mike Hobson, Director of Media & Community Relations, at (205) 988-3200 or at media@barons.com.

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Southern League Stories from April 13, 2003


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