SL1 Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

Suns Drop Series Finale to Barons, 4-1

Published on May 27, 2013 under Southern League (SL1)
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp News Release


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Jacksonville Suns (26-21) snapped a long scoreless streak at the plate but could not avoid their fourth straight loss to the Birmingham Barons (32-18), falling in the series finale at Bragan Field by a final of 4-1.

The Suns again found little success with their bats against Barons pitching, failing to record a hit against starter Scott Snodgress (6-3) until the seventh inning in front of 3,842 fans on Memorial Day at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

"We hit some balls hard," said Suns manager Andy Barkett following the loss. "But when you're facing a good pitcher, you need to hit more than a couple of balls hard to beat him."

Suns starter Adam Conley was sharp until the third inning, when like Robert Morey two days before him, the left-hander fell victim to one rough inning at the hands of the Barons. Cody Puckett led off the inning with his third home run, the second of the series for the Birmingham second baseman. Andy Wilkins and Michael Earley each added RBI's later in the frame for the Barons.

Already up 3-0, Birmingham added on in the fifth when Keenyn Walker launched his first long ball of the campaign, a liner that crept over the left field wall to make it 4-0. Conley would retire the next two hitters before being lifted, finishing with a season-high eight strikeouts.

"[Conley] had one bad inning and couldn't limit the damage," Barkett said of his left-handed starter. "In our starting pitching's defense, we're having to almost pitch perfect because we're not swinging the bats right now."

Jacksonville, meanwhile, could not manage a base hit against Snodgress through the first six innings. Despite several well struck pitches, the Birmingham left-hander took a no-hitter into the seventh and extended the Suns' scoreless streak to 29 and two thirds innings.

The Suns broke through in the seventh, plating their first run since Chris Gutierrez tripled in a run in Friday's loss to Birmingham. Daniel Pertusati broke up the no-hit bid with a clean single to right, and Zack Cox followed with a hit of his own. Both runners advanced on a ground ball, and Pertusati scored on J.T. Realmuto's ensuing sacrifice fly.

Pertusati and Cox's hits, which came on back to back pitches, would be the only knocks of the game for the Suns, who lost a fourth straight game for the first time in 2013.

Jacksonville's bullpen again was impressive, as Scott McGough, Arquimedes Caminero and Michael Brady combined for four and a third shutout frames once Conley departed. Birmingham's bullpen responded after Snodgress also left, with Taylor Thompson earning his seventh save thanks to two scoreless innings.

The Suns will begin a six-game road trip on Tuesday at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium against their division rivals, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. The series opener is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. first pitch, with Jay Jackson (2-1, 2.56) slated to start for Jacksonville. Jackson will be opposed by Blue Wahoos right-hander Chad Rogers (2-2, 1.93)

Suns fans can listen to Tuesday'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 7:45 p.m. ET with the UF and Shands Suns Pre-Game Show.

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Southern League Stories from May 27, 2013


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