Nola's Heroics Give Suns 3-2 Walk-Off Win
JACKSONVILLE, FL- Austin Nola emerged as Thursday night's hero, with his walk-off single in the 12th inning lifting the Jacksonville Suns (23-23) to a 3-2 victory over the Jackson Generals (18-28) Thursday night from Bragan Field.
Listen to manager Andy Barkett's postgame comments here:
Chipper Smith didn't factor into the decision but wowed in his Suns home debut on Thursday. The left-hander only allowed one run (earned) on three hits in 6.2 innings of work, while issuing a pair of walks and striking out six Generals.
James Nygren set down all four batters he faced in his 1.1 innings of hitless relief.
Nick Wittgren allowed one run on three hits in his 2.0 innings of work, striking out a pair of Generals along the way.
Tyler Higgins (W, 1-0) earned his first win of the year after holding the Generals scoreless in two innings of work.
Generals starter Matt Anderson was excellent through seven innings of work, allowing just one unearned run on five hits, while walking one batter and striking out six.
Stephen Kohlscheen didn't allow a single hit in his two innings of scoreless relief for the Generals. Mayckol Guaipe (BS, 2) blew the save in the 10th inning, with Moises Hernandez (L, 0-3) taking the loss by allowing one run on two hits in his 0.2 innings of work.
Jacksonville hopped on the scoreboard first, breaking the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth inning when Alfredo Silverio plated J.T. Realmuto on an RBI groundout.
The Suns didn't hold that 1-0 advantage for too long, as John Hicks (HR, 1) led off the inning with his first home run of the 2014 season to knot the ballgame up at 1-1.
The game remained tied after nine innings and the Generals plated a run on a Nate Melendres RBI groundout to grab a 2-1 lead in the top of the 10th inning.
Patience was a virtue for the Suns in the bottom of the 10th inning. A pair of walks helped extend the inning to ultimately get to Austin Nola whose RBI single scored Alfredo Lopez from second base to tie up the ballgame at 2-2.
In the bottom of the 12th inning, it was Nola again who came through in the clutch for Jacksonville, with his single to left scoring Alfredo Lopez to give the Suns a 3-2 win in walk-off style.
With four hits tonight, Nola has at least two hits in six of his last seven ballgames.
The Suns and Generals will be back at it on Friday night, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. ET. The Suns will send out the righty Jay Rogers (0-0, 0.00) to make his 2014 Suns debut, while the Generals are set to counter with 19-year-old right-hander Victor Sanchez (0-1, 5.09).
Suns fans can listen to Friday'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 6:50 p.m. ET with the Memorial Hospital Suns Pregame Show.
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 Thursday's ballgame:
Austin Nola Game-Tying RBI Single In 10th - May 22, 2014 by Jacksonville Suns
Austin Nola Walk-Off Single - May 22, 2014 by Jacksonville Suns