Barons Lose Marathon; 12-7
Carlos Peguero led off the sixth inning with a game-tying home run off Barons reliever Ryan Oullette. A walk and a one-out single gave the visitors runners at the corners and Brandon Haveman took advantage with a sacrifice bunt that scored Scott Savastano to give the Diamond Jaxx a one-run lead that they would not surrender. Johan Limonta added an RBI single two batters later.
Oullette (1-1, 3.45) relieved starting pitcher Charles Leesman who was making his first Double A start after being promoted from Winston-Salem earlier in the day. The reliever entered a tied game in the fifth inning with Havenan on first base and immediately overthrew a pickoff attempt that allowed the runner to head all the way to third base. Haveman came around to score one out later on a single up the middle by Limonta that put the Diamond Jaxx ahead.
The Barons retook the lead in their half of the fifth inning. Cole Armstrong led off with a walk ahead of consecutive singles by Justin Greene and John Shelby III. The Barons tied the game moments later on a strange sequence with newcomer Eduardo Escobar at-bat. Escobar grounded the ball to second baseman Matt Lawson that allowed Armstrong to score. After an initial struggle to field the ball, Lawson stepped on second base ahead of John Shelby III who was coming from first base, and then gunned the ball home ahead of Greene who was trying to score all the way from second base. An RBI single by Tyler Kuhn broke the 5-5 tie, but the lead was short lived.
The evening started off well enough for the Barons, scoring four times in the first inning thanks to five hits. Tyler Kuhn got the ball rolling for the Barons with a leadoff triple and scored on a single up the middle by CJ Retherford. A walk by Jim Gallagher and a single by Christian Marrero loaded the bases for Salvador Sanchez who came through with a single to put the home team up by two runs. A sacrifice fly by Cole Armstrong added the third run and Justin Greene capped the scoring moments later with an infield single.
Charles Leesman retired six of the first seven batters he faced before issuing a leadoff walk to Nate Trenbrink in the third inning. A single by Haveman and a two-out walk to Limonta loaded the bases for West Tenn's Alex Liddi. Liddi took advantage with a three-run double that closed the gap to one run.
Luis Munos (3-4, 4.30) was awarded the win despite giving up three runs during his 3.1 innings on the mound.
The Barons had a chance to re-take the lead in the eighth inning. Retherford and Gallagher drew consecutive one-out walks and a double by Marrero cut the lead to one run. Sanchez was then intentionally walked to lead the bases for Cole Armstrong, but the catcher struck out before Greene grounded out to end the threat. The visitors added four runs in the ninth inning off Greg Infante to put the game out of reach. The Barons and Diamond Jaxx will continue the series Thursday night with a 7:05 PM contest. Johnnie Lowe (3-3, 4.63) will try to end the Barons skid opposite Jarrett Grube (1-2, 2.92). The game will feature a Thirsty Thursday promotion.