Blue Wahoos Win Sixth Straight Series 5-3 Over Barons

July 7, 2012


The Blue Wahoos capitalized on five Barons errors, with center fielder Ryan LaMarre and Didi Gregorius each scoring twice, while Birmingham center fielder Jared Mitchell launched two homers as Pensacola won their sixth straight series with a 5-3 victory in front of another sellout crowd of 5,038 on Friday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.

The Fish improved to 10-6 in the second half and remain in a tie for first in the Southern League’s South Division with Montgomery due to a Biscuits victory over Mobile. The Barons fell to 9-7 since the league’s All-Star Break. The capacity crowd was the 29th the club has hosted this season in 42 home openings in their inaugural season.

The two teams combined for three runs in the first, with Mitchell mashing his seventh home run of the year to right to give Birmingham a 1-0 lead in the top of the opening frame. The Blue Wahoos would answer with two tallies of their own in the bottom of the inning, when LaMarre led off with a single, advanced to second on a balk and third when Gregorius reached first before the team executed a double steal. Gregorius took off from first on the pitch, with LaMarre swiping home after Birmingham C Luis Sierra’s throw arrived to second late. Gregorius would eventually score on a wild pitch in the frame to put the Wahoos ahead.

Pensacola then extended their advantage to 3-1 in the fourth thanks to a pair of Barons fielding miscues. LF Bryson Smith reached on an error to begin the frame, stole second and got to third on a sacrifice bunt before coming home on another fielding mistake. Mitchell however, tied the game in the fifth with his second homer of the night, a two-run blast, to make it 3-3.

The Blue Wahoos subsequently grasped the lead for good in the seventh. LaMarre was hit by a pitch to start the inning and then swiped second before he was sent in on Gregorius’ RBI triple down the right field line. Gregorius would then come plateward on a sacrifice fly to center off the bat of 2B Brodie Greene to end the scoring at 5-3.

Fish reliever Curtis Partch (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 SO) earned the win after firing two shutout innings in support of starter Tim Crabbe (4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO), while RHP Justin Freeman (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 SO) notched his seventh save of the year by finishing the job in the ninth. Partch has now fired 21.1 consecutive scoreless innings over 14 appearances for Pensacola dating back to May 29.

Birmingham relief pitcher Leroy Hunt (3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO) suffered the loss to fall to 0-3 after yielding two earned run on two hits in his three frames, while starter Cameron Bayne (5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO) did not factor in the decision after allowing three runs, all unearned on three hits in his five innings of work.

Barons CF Jose Martinez (3-4, 1 2B) led all hitters with three hits in the contest, while Mitchell (2-3, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 1 IBB) also collected a multi-hit game with his two roundtrippers and reached base a total of five times. No Blue Wahoos batters recorded two or more hits, though Gregorius’ triple in the seventh extended his hit streak to sevens straight games.

The Blue Wahoos will now host the Mobile BayBears for a three-game series in Pensacola as part of the Bay-to-Bay Series, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 pm at the bayfront stadium. LHP Tony Cingrani is slated to take the mound for the Fish, while RHP Chase Anderson is expected to toe the rubber for the BayBears.

By Andrew Green

Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports