Suns Win Game One Of DH On Shoemaker's Walk-Off

The Barons dropped game one of their double-header against the Jacksonville Suns by a score of 2-1 on a walk-off single by former Baron Brady Shoemaker at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.  

The Barons broke a scoreless tie in the third thanks to the legs of Dan Wagner. He led off the inning with an infield single and went to second on a groundout by Jared Mitchell. With Trayce Thompson batting, he stole third base and scored on a groundout later in the at-bat giving the Barons a 1-0 lead. Despite outhitting the Suns 8-3 in the game, it would be the only run scored by the Barons.

Shoemaker provided both runs for the Suns, leveling the score at 1-1 in the fourth with an RBI double to right field scoring Austin Barnes. It would be the only run scored against Barons starter Mike Recchia who took a no-decision despite allowing just two hits and striking out eight over 7.0 IP.

The scheduled seven inning game would go to 'extra innings' with both teams trading zeroes in the eighth. The winning rally started with reliever Kevin Vance (5-3, 4.87) hitting Austin Nola with a pitch to lead off the ninth. A sacrifice bunt by Austin Barnes sent Nola to second base. After an intentional walk to J.T. Realmuto, Shoemaker provided the winning run with a base hit to left field. He finished 2-for-4 with two RBI in the game.

Josh Richmond and Kevan Smith each finished with two hits for the Barons, who left seven men on base. With the loss, the Barons fell to 16-14 in the second half and 45-55 overall while Jacksonville improved to 55-46 and 19-12 in the second half.