BayBears Top Wahoos 4-3

August 1, 2013

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos rallied from two separate deficits on Wednesday night, but still fell victim of a late-inning run in a 4-3 setback to the Mobile BayBears at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.

The game was tied at three headed to the eighth inning before the BayBears took the lead against Pensacola reliever Parker Frazier. Mobile loaded the bases with nobody out against Frazier who then gave up a sacrifice fly to Ryan Court to give the BayBears a 4-3 lead. Lee Hyde entered to limit the damage thanks to a pick off and a groundout.

Frazier took the loss for Pensacola, falling to 1-1. The right-hander allowed a run on two hits with a walk in just a third of an inning.

Pensacola had chances to tie and win the game in their last two at-bats but stranded three runners in the final two frames, including the tying run at second in the ninth when closer Jake Barrett struck out Yorman Rodriguez to end the game.

Mobile jumped out on top early in the contest against Pensacola starter Josh Smith. Ender Inciarte doubled on the first pitch of the game, stole third, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Justin Greene to make it 1-0.

Former Wahoo Mark Serrano got the start for the BayBears and dominated his former team with three shutout innings before running into a bit of trouble in the fourth. Mike Costanzo led off with a walk, moved to third on a Rodriguez double and scored on a groundout from Lutz to knot the game at one.

The two teams traded a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. In the top half, Mobile loaded the bases with two outs against Smith and scored a run on an RBI infield single from Raywilly Gomez that deflected off the glove of a diving Costanzo at first base. Drew Hayes came on to relieve Smith and uncorked a wild pitch, allowing a run to score and giving the BayBears a 3-1 lead.

Smith didn’t factor in the decision as he went 5.2 innings allowing three runs on eight hits while notching eight punchouts, one shy of a season high.

Pensacola battled right back in the bottom half to tie things up at three despite a baserunning mistake. With runners at first and second, Donald Lutz singled to left but Rodriguez was caught rounding second to far and induced a rundown between second and third before Corey Wimberly took off for home and was thrown out at the plate. Tucker Barnhart picked up the slack, though, with a two-run single to right scoring Lutz and Rodriguez.

However, Pensacola stranded runners on base in each of their last four at-bats adding up to a total of nine on the night. Six of the nine runners were left in scoring position.

Blake Cooper (3-2) picked up the win for the BayBears by getting the final out of the seventh inning and tossing a scoreless eighth.

The series wraps up on Thursday with the rubber game between the two squads at 7 p.m. Carlos Contreras (0-1, 4.66) will toe the rubber for Pensacola against Mobile’s Bradin Hagens (9-3, 3.63).

story by Kevin Burke

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