Jacksonville Edges Birmingham In Tightly Contested Duel

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -  The Birmingham Barons pounded out 10 hits against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Monday night, but it wasn't enough as the Jumbo Shrimp snuck out of the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville with a 3-2 win.
Both Spencer Adams and Joe Gunkel kept the game scoreless through three innings, but for the fourth consecutive night, the Barons struck first in the fourth.

Trey Michalczewski lined a Gunkel pitch down the line and over the wall in left field for his seventh home run of the season and his second this series.
Spotted a one-run lead, Adams held on until the bottom of the fifth, when two Jumbo Shrimp bunt singles kick started the inning. Following a balk, Austin Dean tied the game with an RBI groundout and David Vidal chopped a grounder over the drawn in infield to vault Jacksonville in front 2-1.
Adams would depart after 6.2 innings, leaving two runners on for Jace Fry . Cam Maron then greeted Fry by flaring his first pitch of the game over the head of Jose Vinicio at second base, bringing home an insurance run for a 3-1 lead. That closed the book on Adams, as he surrendered six hits and three runs over the course of his outing.
That run would prove large, as in the top of the eighth, the Barons mounted a rally of their own. Nick Basto and Mason Robbins singled to lead off the inning and following a Hunter Jones sacrifice bunt, Courtney Hawkins drove home pinch runner Toby Thomas with an RBI groundout to cut the lead in half at 3-2.
However, Robbins was left stranded at second and Clayton Mortensen would pitch a clean ninth inning for his fifth save in as many attempts.
Adams took the loss, dropping his fourth consecutive decision, while Gunkel recorded his fourth win of the season, with 6.1 innings of one run ball. Basto, Michalczewski and Robbins all led the Barons' 10-hit attack with two hits apiece.
The Barons and Jumbo Shrimp conclude their series tomorrow evening at 6:05 p.m. CT. at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Left-hander Tanner Banks will take the ball for the Barons, while his righty Chris Mazza will start for the Jumbo Shrimp. Curt Bloom will bring you all the action, starting with the Coca-Cola pregame show at 5:55 p.m. CT. The game can be heard on the iHeart Radio app and 105.5 WERC-FM.  
For ticket information, game schedule, promotions calendar or for additional information about Regions Field, call (205) 988-3200, or visit www.barons.com, www.facebook.com/birminghambarons or on Twitter: @bhambarons.