Suns In 1st After 3-1, 1-0 Wins Over Mobile
JACKSONVILLE, FL - A combination of timely hitting and brilliant pitching helped the Jacksonville Suns (43-25, 79-59) to a doubleheader sweep of the Mobile BayBears (37-29, 79-56), winning 3-1 and 1-0 on Saturday from Bragan Field. With the pair of wins, the Suns have earned a series victory with two games to play.
The Suns were able to erase a one-run deficit with a three-run fourth inning en route to a 3-1 win to begin Saturday's doubleheader.
Jay Rogers (W, 7-5) earned his seventh victory as a Sun, only allowing one unearned run on three hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts in his 5.1 innings of work.
Reid Redman (H, 2) retired both batters he faced, picking up one strikeout in his 0.2 innings of relief.
Nick Wittgren (SV, 19) collected his 19th save on the year after working a 1-2-3 seventh inning, striking out one batter along the
The game remained scoreless until the BayBears struck for an unearned run in the top of the fourth. A fielding error by Austin Barnes allowed Argenis Diaz to score from third with two outs, putting Mobile up 1-0 in the top of the fourth.
But the Suns answered right back with a three-spot in the bottom part of the frame. A Viosergy Rosa sacrifice fly and a two-out, two-run home run from Austin Barnes (HR, 12) gave the Suns a 3-1 lead after four innings of play.
Game two remained scoreless until Viosergy Rosa walked the Suns off as 1-0 winners with a RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, allowing Jacksonville to complete the sweep of Saturday's twin bill.
Hear from Viosergy Rosa after his walk-off single lifted the Suns to a 1-0 win in game two:
Jon Link struck out a career-high 12 batters in six brilliant innings of shutout ball, only allowing two hits and a walk as he did not factor into the decision. Link struck out four batters in the first inning, three in the second, one in the third, one in the fourth, two in the fifth and one more in the sixth inning. His 12 strikeouts are the most by a Sun in a single game on the 2014 season.
James Nygren (W, 4-2) collected the win after working a scoreless top of the seventh inning, allowing a lone hit in his winning relief outing.
RJ Hively (L, 3-5) took the loss for Mobile, surrendering the game's lone run (earned) on four hits with a walk and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work.
The game remained scoreless until Viosergy Rosa came up with a two-out RBI single to score Austin Nola from third base, walking the Suns off as 1-0 winners to finish off the double dip.
The Suns and BayBears will be back at it on Sunday, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. ET. The Suns will start left-hander Justin Nicolino (13-4, 2.98) while the BayBears will counter with right-hander A.J. Schugel (6-3, 3.34).
Suns fans can listen to Sunday's game on the Suns Baseball Network, 94.1 WSOS-FM or through www.jaxsuns.com, MiLB.com or the Suns iPhone or Android app, beginning at 6:35 p.m. ET with the Memorial Hospital Suns Pregame Show on Suns Sunday. Additionally, Suns fans can tune into the CW 17 to watch the Suns live in high definition as Roger Hoover and Suns President & Owner Peter Bragan, Jr. will anchor all of the coverage.
The 2014 season of Suns baseball is presented by EverBank, the official banking partner of the Jacksonville Suns. Sponsorships, group outings, and season / individual game tickets are currently available by calling the Suns front office at (904) 358-2846.
Below are two highlights from game one:
Below are two highlights from game two: