Historic rally leads to 9-8 victory in 11 innings

MEMPHIS – Down to his final strike, Jordan Groshans smashed a three-run home run in the ninth inning to tie Saturday’s game, helping the Jumbo Shrimp rally from six runs down as Jacksonville wound up beating the Memphis Redbirds 9-8 in 11 innings to secure the largest come-from-behind victory in the Jumbo Shrimp era (2017-present).

In a game Memphis (20-12) once led 6-0 and 7-1, Jacksonville (16-14) had whittled that deficit down to 8-5 in the ninth. Joey Wendle and Charles Leblanc each singled with one out to bring the tying run to the plate. After a strikeout, Groshans’ three-run shot knotted the score at eight.

Having yielded a run in the eighth, Jumbo Shrimp reliever Richard Rodriguez (1-0) worked 1-2-3 frames in both the ninth and 10th innings – marking the first time that the native of Santiago in the Dominican Republic went 3.0 innings in a game since June 23, 2018.

In the 11th, Jacksonville broke through for their first lead of the game. With Cobie Fletcher-Vance starting the inning on second, Redbirds reliever Jose Martinez (0-1) hit Jake Mangum with a pitch. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners up before Memphis intentionally walked Leblanc to load the bases. Martinez then issued a free pass to Jerar Encarnacion to force in a run, giving the Jumbo Shrimp a 9-8 advantage.

From there, Robert Garcia fanned two in a perfect ninth inning to earn his first save, sealing Jacksonville’s largest come-from-behind win of the Jumbo Shrimp era (2017-present) and the franchise’s biggest since also rallying from six runs down on August 10, 2013 at Pensacola in an 8-6 win in 16 innings.

The Redbirds got off to a hot start on Saturday thanks to the home run ball. Moises Gomez blasted a solo shot in the first, Masyn Winn added a three-run bomb in the second and then Gomez and Luken Baker went back-to-back to start the third to make it 6-0.

It took until the fourth to finally get the Jumbo Shrimp on the board. C.J. Hinojosa doubled with one out before Austin Allen singled him to third. Fletcher-Vance then notched an RBI ground out to make it 6-1.

However, in the bottom of the fourth, Memphis got the run back. Winn and Jordan Walker each drew free passes to start the frame. After a pair of outs, an error scored win to put the Redbirds up 7-1.

Jacksonville began crawling back in the sixth. Groshans doubled to begin the frame before Jacob Amaya walked. After a strikeout, Allen socked a three-run home run to halve the deficit to 7-4.

A Wendle home run to lead off the seventh made it 7-5. In the bottom of the seventh, Encarnacion threw out Kramer Robertson at the plate trying to score on a Winn single to keep things at two. Oscar Mercado’s sacrifice fly in the eighth put the margin at 8-5.

Jacksonville bids for a series win at Memphis in Sunday’s 3:05 p.m. ET contest. RHP Ronald Bolaños (0-2, 3.00 ERA) starts for the Jumbo Shrimp against Redbirds LHP Zack Thompson (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Coverage begins at 2:50 p.m. ET on ESPN 690, www.ESPN690.com and the MiLB First Pitch app.

ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp offer affordable family fun at 121 Financial Ballpark. Their inaugural season garnered the Southern League’s Don Mincher Organization of the Year, Promotional Trophy and Jimmy Bragan Executive of the Year, won by general manager Harold Craw. The club added its second Promotional Trophy in three years following the 2019 season. The 2021 season marked the return of Triple-A baseball in Jacksonville. To experience the excitement with the terrific value of ticket and group options, call the Jumbo Shrimp at (904) 358-2846 or visit www.jaxshrimp.com.