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Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

Suns Take 2-0 Series Lead with 8-1 Victory

September 11, 2009 - Southern League (SL1)
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp News Release


Hoover, Ala. - Graham Taylor parried away early Barons scoring chances while the Jacksonville Suns (2-0) offense scored six runs over the final three innings to run away with an 8-1 victory over the Birmingham Barons (0-2) while taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five South Division Championship Series in front of 2,836 Friday night at Regions Park.

Taylor (1-0) allowed one run and eight hits over five and two-thirds innings with two walks and one strikeout for his first Southern League postseason victory. Barons starter Matt Zaleski (0-1) fell in the loss, giving up two runs in the fifth inning on seven total hits, with three walks and three strikeouts.

Jacksonville opened the scoring in the fifth inning after struggling to two hits over the first four innings off Zaleski. With two out and bases empty Brad Davis singled and would later score on a Bryan Petersen double to centerfield for a 1-0 lead. Petersen next scored on a Chris de la Cruz single for a 2-0 score.

Birmingham was unable to take advantage of early scoring chances against Taylor. With runners at second and third base with one out in the second inning, Taylor induced a pop out and ground out to end the threat. The Barons loaded the bases with no outs in the third inning, but a foul out and double play ground ball got Taylor out of the jam again.

The Barons finally got on the board in the sixth inning. After a two out single from John Shelby, III and a steal of second base, Jared Price singled to knock him home for a 2-1 score.

Jacksonville took control of the game starting in the seventh inning. Brad Davis led off with a triple and later scored on a Chris de la Cruz single for a 3-1 lead. The Suns added two more runs in the eighth inning, first on a Matt Dominguez double and finally on a Clevelan Santeliz wild pitch for a 5-1 score.

The Suns salted the game away in the ninth inning with a three-run rally. Kevin Randel knocked in a run on a fielder's choice while a throwing error on the same play allowed a second run to score for a 7-1 lead. Lorenzo Scott later hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to plate Scott Cousins for an 8-1 final.

Suns RH Brad Stone will face Barons RH Matt Long in game three of the best-of-five series Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Tickets are available through the Suns box office at (904) 358-2846 or by visiting jaxsuns.com.

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