Wahoos Slip Past Jacksonville

July 18, 2016

Pensacola third baseman Taylor Sparks hit his third home run in his last four games to propel the Blue Wahoos to a 7-6 victory in the top of the 10th inning Sunday over the Jacksonville Suns in the second game of a doubleheader.

Sparks’ fifth homer of the season, this time off of Jacksonville reliever Tyler Higgins, helped Pensacola even its record at 12-12 and in second place in the Southern League South Division in the second half. Plus, the Blue Wahoos are now 8-3 in extra-inning games this season. Pensacola also clinched the five-game series, going up 3-1 on the road at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

A mid-season call up from the Daytona Tortugas, Sparks has gone 4-for-10 in this series against Jacksonville pitching with three homers and five RBIs. He hit two blasts in his first game with Pensacola and now has five homers and 13 RBIs in 22 games with the Blue Wahoos.

Jacob Ehret earned his first Double-A win (1-0) in nine appearances with Pensacola pitching two scoreless innings in relief on one hit, two walks and a strikeout.

Pensacola jumped on Jacksonville starting pitcher Matt Tomshaw by scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Blue Wahoos second baseman Brandon Dixon singled on a ground ball to leftfield that drove in center fielder Jeff Gelalich, who had doubled to start the game, for the first run.

Pensacola went ahead, 2-0, when shortstop Zach Vincej singled on a line drive to left field that scored left fielder Phillip Ervin. Blue Wahoos first baseman Ray Chang doubled in Dixon and Vincej for the final two runs of the inning that made the score, 4-0.

Jacksonville came right back in the bottom the first. Suns center fielder Moises Sierra doubled on a ground ball to left field that scored right fielder Ronnie Mitchell to make the score, 4-1. Then Suns third baseman Brian Anderson hit a two-out, two-run homer that also drove in Sierra to pull Jacksonville within, 4-3.

However, Pensacola came back with a run in the fourth inning to go up, 5-3, when Gelalich hit a sacrifice fly deep to center field that scored Blue Wahoos catcher Joe Hudson, who lead off the inning with a double.

Pensacola tacked on another run to go ahead, 6-3, in the fifth inning when right fielder Juan Duran singled in Dixon.

Jacksonville pulled within one run again, 6-5, in the sixth inning when first baseman Chris Curley hit an infield single to shortstop that scored both Sierra and Anderson.

The Suns tied the score, 6-6, in the seventh inning when Sierra hit a bases loaded sacrifice fly to center field that scored left fielder Alex Glenn.

In the first game of the doubleheader, Jacksonville won 1-0 scoring its only run in the first inning. Pensacola starter Jackson Stephens hit Brian Anderson with the bases loaded to score Austin Dean.

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