Barons Blank Suns In 1-0 Win

The Birmingham Barons picked up their first home win of the 2014 campaign with a 1-0 shutout over the Jacksonville Suns in front of 7,786 fans at Regions Field Friday night.

Scott Snodgress worked in and out of trouble for most of his start but was able to string together 5.0 scoreless innings, scattering four hits and four walks while tallying six strikeouts. Key strikeouts in the first and third inning helped Snodgress escape potential jams early in the game.

However, Suns starter Angel Sanchez was equally effective, matching Snodgress inning for inning until the sixth. With one out in the inning, Trayce Thompson reached on a double into the alley in left-center and scored on a base hit by Kevan Smith to give the Barons their first lead of the homestand at 1-0. Thompson finished 3-for-4 in the game, the first three-hit game by a Baron this season.

Relievers Kevin Vance (1-0, 0.00) and Cody Winiarski (S, 1) made sure the run would stand up as they combined to hold the Suns hitless over the final 4.0 innings as the Barons avoided losing three games in a row at Regions Field for the first time in the ballpark's history

The shutout was the first for the Barons since blanking Pensacola on August 25, 2013.

With the win the Barons improved to 3-5 while the Suns fell to 3-5 on the young season. The Barons will look to win their second game in a row Saturday night as RH Terry Doyle (0-1, 7.20) takes the hill against LH Justin Nicolino (0-1, 1.80). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM CDT.