Birmingham Drops Both in First Double-header of the Season

The weather in Birmingham, Alabama forced the Birmingham Barons and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos to stack two games on Friday, May 12th. The weather was a roller coaster ride that would make anyone dizzy, however the two games were very similar with the Blue Wahoos dominating both. Pensacola outscored Birmingham 28-7 in the pair of contests with 22 of the runs coming in the first game.

The two losses extended the Barons losing streak to seven games, and 7.0 games back in the Southern League North.

Despite the double-header losses, Birmingham had a pair of stellar performances from the plate in Chris Shaw and Taylor Snyder.

In Game 1, Shaw finished 2-4 with a run, three RBI, a double and a solo towering home run. The 29 year-old, in Game 2, may not have been credited with another RBI but with a hard grounder that couldn’t be corralled scored the only run in the game. Shaw may not have the most outstanding batter average on the team, but he sure knows how to hit the ball for power.

Snyder, also, tallied a home run on the night with his coming with a man on-base. The 28 year-old finished 2-2 accounting for two runs, two RBI and a home run. Snyder currently sits with a .200 batting average and leads the team with 15 runs.

Even with a quick glimpse into the first double-header of the 2023 season there is more of the story to tell.

Below is a more in-depth recap of the past two games the Barons have played.

Game 1

The Original game might have only lasted one-and-a-half innings, but the Blue Wahoos made their mark in that short amount of time.

Pensacola scored six runs in the top of the first inning, however that was only the tip of the iceberg for what was to come after the suspension of the game. The Barons were able to hold them off for an inning once the game resumed on Friday, but the floodgates were opened back up in the fourth inning.

The Blue Wahoos would score a run in the fourth and fifth innings, while Shaw would hit his solo shot in the bottom of the fourth to at-least get the Barons on the scoreboard.

Pensacola would start to push down on the gas pedal in the sixth, hitting a two-run home run to bring them up by nine runs. Snyder matched with his two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to keep the defeat at single digits.

The Blue Wahoos did not like that very much and decided to answer back with a statement eighth inning. Pensacola 2 exploded for 11 runs in the top of the eighth inning to cement the victory.

The Barons would scrap together three runs in the final two innings to cushion the loss.

Birmingham could make a lot of excuses for the outcome of that game, however they never stopped fighting.

Game 2

The Barons came into the second game with a lot of energy and were ready to jump on the scoreboard first.

Which is exactly what they did as Shaw hit a laser to the opposition's first-baseman and with an error scored the first run of the game.

Birmingham’s starting RHP Matt Thompson shut out the Blue Wahoos for the first three innings, however that dominance would not continue in the fourth. Thompson allowed five runs in the top of the fourth inning, four being counted as earned runs on his record.

Pensacola captured the lead and didn’t look back for the rest of the game. The Barons would allow the Blue Wahoos closer 3.0 shutout innings paired with six strikeouts. Despite the lack of production from the Barons bats, the two relief pitchers got the job done.

RHP Nash Walters and RHP Lincoln Henzman combined for three hits, zero earned runs and seven strikeouts.

Birmingham showed more promise in the second game yet were not able to overcome the scoreboard.