SL1 Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

Suns Sweep Sunday Doubleheader From Diamond Jaxx

Published on April 6, 2008 under Southern League (SL1)
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp News Release


JACKSONVILLE, FLA. - The Jacksonville Suns (3-1) used solid starting pitching and timely hitting while sweeping the Sunday doubleheader against the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (1-3) with scores of 4-3 and 2-1 in front of 3,722 at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

Marlon Arias (1-0) picked up the win for Jacksonville in game one while West Tenn starter Justin Thomas (0-1) fell in the loss. Brian Akin (1) saved the game for the Suns. In game two, Suns reliever Edwardo Sierra (1-0) picked up the victory while Diamond Jaxx reliever Marwin Vega (0-1) picked up the loss. Yhency Brazoban (2) saved his second game of the series with a perfect final inning.

The Suns opened the scoring in game one during the second inning as third baseman Russell Mitchell belted a two-out, solo homerun off of West Tenn starter Justin Thomas for a 1-0 lead.

On the other side, Suns starter Marlon Arias was dominant throughout his outing as he put down 13 consecutive hitters following a first inning leadoff walk. West Tenn's Jon Nelson broke that string of outs by reaching on catcher's interference during the fifth inning. Pinch runner Josh Womack stole second and later scored on a Luis Valbuena double to tie the game 1-1.

Arias left the game after the fifth inning, with one unearned run, one hit, two walks and five strikeouts.

The Suns regained the lead in the fifth inning when Russell Mitchell struck again with a one-out, solo homerun for a 2-1 lead. Mitchell became the first Suns player to hit two homeruns in a game since Xavier Paul did it on August 17, 2007 at Montgomery.

Jacksonville added two more runs in the sixth inning, with RBI singles from Lucas May and Rene Rivera off of reliever Mumba Rivera opening a 4-1 lead.

Suns reliever Kyle Wilson allowed a walk in his one inning of work before Brian Akin took the hill for the final inning looking for the save. West Tenn's Prentice Redman began a seventh inning rally with a leadoff double off of Akin. Following a Josh Womack strikeout and Luis Valbuena walk, Marshall Hubbard connected on a pinch double scoring Redman to cut the Suns lead to 4-2. Jeffrey Dominguez next grounded out to second base to drive home Valbuena for a 4-3 score. Mike Saunders then grounded out to end the game.

The Suns faced West Tenn starter Chris Jakubauskas in the second game, who had spent his first four full seasons as a professional in independent baseball and his fifth (2007) between independent baseball and West Tenn. After putting down the first eight Suns hitters in a row, Jacksonville outfielder Adam Godwin legged out an infield single before a throwing error put him at second base with two out. James Tomlin next singled through the right side to score Godwin for a 1-0 lead.

On the other side Suns starter Jesus Castillo allowed two-out doubles in each of the first three innings, only to get the next batter out each time to end each threat. West Tenn catcher Luis Oliveros led off the fifth inning with another double, his second of the game and West Tenn's fourth, and was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Josh Womack next plated Womack with a sacrifice fly to square the score at 1-1.

Jakubauskas left the game after five innings making way for reliever Marwin Vega. Suns shortstop Ivan DeJesus, Jr. led off the sixth inning with a double followed by a Greg Jacobs single. Pinch runner Jamie Hoffmann stole second while Rene Rivera next grounded out to the pitcher. Vega then intentionally walked Russell Mitchell to load the bases for Bobby Malek who hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring DeJesus for a 2-1 Suns lead.

Suns closer Yhency Brazoban pitched a perfect seventh inning to preserve his second save of the series.

The Suns and Diamond Jaxx conclude the series Monday at 11:05 a.m. Suns RH Mario Alvarez, a member of the Dodgers 40-Man roster, gets the start for the Suns. Former Suns pitcher Ryan Ketchner is expected to be added to the West Tenn roster and to start for the Diamond Jaxx. Monday is Celebration of Reading Day #1, with school kids from all over Jacksonville invited to the special morning game. Tickets are available by calling the Suns box office at (904) 358-2846 or by visiting jaxsuns.com.

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Southern League Stories from April 6, 2008


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