Moons' shots on Star Wars Day beat Shuckers, 5-3

Special jerseys auctioned to benefit Wolfson Children's Hospital; select jerseys are on jaxsuns.milbauctions.com

By Marco LaNave

July 31, 2016

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Wearing Endor Moons jerseys for Star Wars Day, center fielder Alex Glenn, right fielder Ronnie Mitchell and shortstop J.T. Riddle each hit his respective third home run of the season to right field for the home team in a 5-3, series-opening win over the Biloxi Shuckers in front of 2,742 at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville Sunday night.

After Jacksonville right-hander Chris Mazza pitched a scoreless top of the first inning, Mitchell drew a leadoff walk against Shuckers right-hander Angel Ventura (1-3). Mitchell stole second base with one out, and after third baseman Brian Anderson drew a two-out walk, Glenn slammed a pitch to the right-field bleachers, giving the Suns (17-19 second half, 47-59 overall) a 3-0 lead.

Mazza shut out Biloxi (13-23, 52-53) until the fourth inning, when Shuckers third baseman Dustin DeMuth hit a leadoff triple to left-center field and scored on third baseman Tom Belza's RBI single to center field.

Mitchell restored the three-run lead with a two-out home run to right field in the fourth inning against Ventura, who allowed home runs for the only two hits and four earned runs against him. He walked four batters and struck out three. In the fifth inning against Shuckers right-hander Brooks Hall, Riddle hit a leadoff home run to extend his hitting streak to 20 games - the best in the Southern League this season and best by a Sun during the Marlins affiliation that began in 2009.

Following Mazza, Suns right-hander Tyler Bremer (5-4) pitched a scoreless fifth inning, but he allowed a sixth-inning leadoff single to DeMuth, who had a game-high four hits and scored all three Biloxi runs. DeMuth scored in the sixth inning on second baseman Javier Betancourt's two-out double. In the seventh inning, Bremer left after pitching 2 2/3 innings, allowing an earned run on three hits and two walks with one strikeout. Suns right-hander Tyler Kinley worked 1 1/3 innings, yielding a run on three hits, including Belza's RBI double to make it 5-3, while striking out the side in the eighth inning. Right-hander Austin Brice struck out the side around two hits in the ninth inning for his second save.

UP NEXT: The Suns continue their series with Biloxi at 7:05 p.m. Monday, when Suns right-hander Patrick Johnson (6-5) is scheduled to face Shuckers right-hander Taylor Jungmann (0-2). VyStar Credit Union Charity Begins at Home will benefit UCOM UrbanServ (more at www.ucomjax.org) through ticket sales and the Launch-A-Ball promotion. Look for weekly unique features from First Coast News on the concourse for First Coast News Night. On Marlins Monday, fans can enter to win tickets to see the Suns' major league affiliate, the Miami Marlins.

ABOUT THE SUNS: The Jacksonville Suns are beginning a new era of affordable family fun under new ownership in 2016. With a FUNdamentally Different promotional schedule and a new lineup of ticket and group options for this season, there is a reason for everyone to get part of the action by calling the Suns at (904) 358-2846 or visiting www.jaxsuns.com.