Jackson Bats Held at Bay in Loss to Suns

Jacksonville, Fla. - Jackson's offense was stymied by four Jacksonville pitchers in a 3-1 loss to the Suns at Bragan Field on Saturday night. It was the third game in a row that Jackson was held to two runs or fewer to start the 2015 season.

The lone run for Jackson (1-2) came in the fifth inning. Down 1-0 with two outs, Jack Reinheimer reached on an error by Jacksonville's Justin Bohn. Tyler Smith made the Suns pay with a double to left field that scored Reinheimer from first and knotted the game up at one. Smith recorded his first RBI and extra-base hit of 2015 on that swing.

Jacksonville (2-1) promptly retook the lead in the home half of the frame thanks to an unearned run of their own. With one out, Isaac Galloway reached on an error by Jackson third baseman Jordy Lara. Two batters later, he came in to score on an RBI single by Zach Cox off of Kyle Hunter to give the Suns a 2-1 lead. The run was charged to Tyler Pike (0-1, 1.93), who gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits over 4.2 innings in his first start of 2015.

The Suns added an insurance run in the eighth inning on a solo shot by designated hitter Matt Juengel. Juengel finished the game 2-for-4 with a double as well after notching three hits in Jacksonville's win on Friday.

Chipper Smith (1-0, 0.00) gave up just an unearned run on three hits in five innings of work to pick up the victory. Craig Stem, Greg Nappo and Nick Wittgren combined to throw four shutout innings in relief. Wittgren struck out two in a perfect ninth to pick up his first save of the year, while Stem and Nappo eached picked up holds in the win.

Five different Generals recorded a hit in the contest. In addition to Tyler Smith's double, Gabriel Guerrero and Jabari Henry each hit a two-bagger. Jordy Lara singled in the sixth inning, giving him a hit in three-straight games to open the 2015 season.

The five-game set continues with Jackson's first afternoon game of the season on Sunday as Dylan Unsworth (0-0, --) gets the ball for the Generals. Kendry Flores (0-0, --), who came to the Marlins as part of the trade that sent former Diamond Jaxx infielder Casey McGeehee to San Francisco, gets the ball for Jacksonville. First pitch is slated for 2:05 pm CT and the game can be heard live on the TJ Network starting at 1:50 pm CT with the Jackson Generals Pregame Show protected by the Tennessee National Guard.

After this series in Jacksonville, the Generals open the season at home on April 15 versus the Mississippi Braves. Wednesday's game kicks off a ten-game homestand for the Generals, which includes the team's first State Farm Agent Wes Harris Dollar Night on April 16 and Fireworks courtesy of the University of Memphis on April 18. Tickets are available by stopping by the park, calling (731) 988.5299 or going online to jacksongeneralsbaseball.com.