Suns Win 6-1 In Game Three To Earn Sixth Southern League Title In Franchise History

JACKSONVILLE, FL - Early offense and a brilliant outing from Justin Nicolino lifted the Jacksonville Suns (6-1) past the Chattanooga Lookouts (3-5) by a 6-1 final in game three of the Southern League Championship Series on Friday from Bragan Field, completing a three-game sweep to give the Suns their sixth Southern League Championship in franchise history.

Justin Nicolino (W, 2-0) earned the win for Jacksonville after holding the Lookouts scoreless on seven hits in 6.2 brilliant innings of work, walking two batters and striking out three in his winning effort.

Reid Redman retired all four batters he faced in 1.1 hitless innings, collecting three strikeouts in his relief effort.

Matt Ramsey allowed one run (earned) on two hits with one strikeout in his one inning of work to finish off the ballgame in a non-save situation.

Jeremy Kehrt took the loss for Chattanooga after allowing three runs (all earned) on five hits with a walk and a strikeout in 2.1 innings of work.

The Suns did not wait long to get on the scoreboard on Friday night, scoring three times in the bottom of the first. Viosergy Rosa (HR, 4) cranked a three-run home run over the wall in right to give Jacksonville a 3-0 lead after the first inning of play.

That score held until the Suns added to their advantage with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. An Austin Barnes RBI double followed later by a Viosergy Rosa RBI single put the Suns in front by a 5-0 score after five innings.

Jacksonville furthered their lead with a run in the bottom of the sixth, as Isaac Galloway scored on Austin Nola's two-out RBI double to make it a 6-0 Suns edge after six innings.

The Lookouts broke up the shutout after Jeremy Hazelbaker's pinch-hit sacrifice fly cut the Suns' lead to 6-1 and capped off the scoring in game three.

With the win, the Suns have earned the sixth Southern League Championship in their franchise history, and the team's first league title since 2010.

First baseman Viosergy Rosa was named as the MVP of the Southern League Championship Series.

Including the postseason, the Suns won 16 of their final 17 games to become Southern League champions.

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 three highlights from Friday's ballgame: