CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (44-52, 15-11) defeated the Chattanooga Lookouts (44-51, 8-18) by a 8-2 score in the first game of the four-game series at AT&T Field on Thursday night.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (44-52, 15-11) defeated the Chattanooga Lookouts (44-51, 8-18) by a 8-2 score in the first game of the four-game series at AT&T Field on Thursday night.
Jacksonville right-handed starting pitcher Sixto Sanchez (5-4) earned the victory, working six and a third scoreless innings where he allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. Chattanooga left-handed starting pitcher Packy Naughton (4-7) took the loss, working five innings where he allowed four runs (all earned) on eight hits with a walk and two strikeouts.
With two outs in the top of the third, Bryson Brigman put Jacksonville in front 1-0 with an RBI double. Sanchez started a top of the fifth inning rally with a single, which led to a two-run single by Riley Mahan to make it 3-0, then Joe Dunand capped the rally with a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 4-0 Jumbo Shrimp.
Sanchez's first six innings were scoreless before the Lookouts scored in the bottom of the seventh. Gavin LaValley hit a two-run double to make it a 4-2 contest, and he was the last batter Sanchez faced. Jacksonville added to its lead in the top of the eighth inning with an RBI groundout by Santiago Chávez to put the lead at 5-2. Jacksonville then began the ninth inning with four consecutive hits, including a two-RBI single by Dunand to grow the lead to 7-2, then an RBI single by J.C. Millan made it 8-2, which would be the final score.
Jacksonville's offense collected a season-high 16 hits, with five hitters posting multi-hit games, led by three-hit performances from Brigman, Dunand, and Millan. Corey Bird was the only Jacksonville starter who did not record a hit, ending his hitting streak at 11 games.
The Jumbo Shrimp and Lookouts will continue the series with the second game of the four-game set at AT&T Field on Friday night at 7:15 p.m. Right-handed pitcher Kolton Mahoney (2-0, 2.98 ERA) will start for Jacksonville against Chattanooga right-handed pitcher Tony Santillan (2-6, 4.98 ERA). Fans can listen to the game on the Jumbo Shrimp Network presented by Community First, beginning at 7 p.m. with the pregame show "Shrimp On Deck" locally on Sunny 102.3 FM, on the TuneIn Radio app, and www.jaxshrimp.com.
ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp offer affordable family fun at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. 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. 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.
