Suns Top Wahoos

June 11, 2015

Pensacola Blue Wahoos third baseman Ray Chang hit a walk-off single but his mother, Wendy, wanted to know about his throwing error.

In the eighth inning, Chang threw the ball in the dirt to first base that allowed the Jacksonville Suns to score two runs and tie the game, 6-6.

However, Chang got an opportunity to redeem himself in the ninth inning and hit a sharp line drive to left field that scored first baseman Marquez Smith with the winning run, 7-6.

The Blue Wahoos took the final game of the five-game series, 7-6, to beat in-state rival Jacksonville Suns in front of 5,038 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. On fireworks night for kids who finished school, the game became the first Wednesday night sellout since the Blue Wahoos inaugural season on May 23, 2012.

The 31-year-old minor league veteran, used mostly as a utility player, said he really wanted to get a hit in that last at bat and drove an inside fastball hard to left. Chang went 4-5 in the game with a triple, two doubles, a run scored and three RBIs. He now has 10 RBIs on the season and is hitting a team-leading .325.

“I wanted it so bad because I almost blew it on that throwing error,” said Chang, still drenched from a water and Gatorade baths. “(My mom) actually didn’t sound too excited. She hates when I make errors. She’d rather I go 0-4.”

His last walk-off came on a single Aug. 16, 2011 for the Minnesota Twins Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. His last four-hit game came the following season with Rochester on Aug. 5, 2012.

This season for the Blue Wahoos, Chang has been on fire at the plate. In the past 25 games since May 2, Chang has hit .403, going 29-72. In the series against Jacksonville, he had a 3-3 game in the series opener and then four hits Wednesday night to bat .538 (7-13).

Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said he wanted to know the names of Chang’s previous managers who failed to start him, including himself in April. Kelly has inserted him in the regular lineup or to pinch hit over the past month.

“That’s why a veteran presence is so nice,” Kelly said. “He felt bad about his throwing error. But you get redeemers in this game. He got a redeemer and won us the ball game.”

Pensacola scored a season-high six runs on a season-high six hits in the second inning to go ahead, 6-0. But Jacksonville chipped away with two runs in the fourth on a Matt Juengel two-run homer. They added two more on a two-run single by centerfielder Kenny Wilson in the sixth, and then tied it in the eighth.

Chang’s game-winner improves Pensacola’s record to 23-35 and they are last place in the Southern League South Division. The Suns drop to 26-33 and remain in fourth place in the division.

The victory snapped Pensacola’s five-game losing streak and evened the record between the teams this summer at 5-5 for the Golden Skillet that goes annually to the winner. Pensacola still has the Southern League’s worst record in one-run games at 7-17 for a .291 winning percentage.

“You never want to win a game that way but maybe it’s a blessing in disguise because it’s exactly how we’ve been losing,” Chang said. “Baseball is a crazy game. Hopefully, this will get us back on the winning side.”

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports