Jacksonville snaps skid with walkoff win
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Victor Mesa Jr. smacked a walk-off single as the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp secured a 6-5 win over the Norfolk Tides in Sunday’s contest at VyStar Ballpark. Down by one in the bottom of the ninth, Bennett Hostetler was hit by a pitch then advanced to second off
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Victor Mesa Jr. smacked a walk-off single as the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp secured a 6-5 win over the Norfolk Tides in Sunday’s contest at VyStar Ballpark.
Down by one in the bottom of the ninth, Bennett Hostetler was hit by a pitch then advanced to second off a Shane Sasaki sacrifice bunt. Matthew Etzel singled and stole second base. Deyvison De Los Santos walked to load the bases. With bases juiced, Victor Mesa Jr. smacked a walk-off two-run single giving Jacksonville (72-47, 25-19) a 6-5 win.
The Jumbo Shrimp started the scoring early in the first inning, opening with an Etzel double. Two batters later Mesa Jrwalked and a balk advanced both runners to third and second. A wild pitch scored Etzel giving the Jumbo Shrimp an early 1-0 lead.
The Jumbo Shrimp kept their momentum going in the fourth. Mesa Jr. singled to start the frame followed by a Jack Winkler. With runners at the corners, Johnny Olmstead walked, loading the bases. With bases juiced, Sasaki ripped a three-run double, extending the lead to 4-0.
Norfolk (51-65, 21-22) responded in the sixth as Jud Fabian singled and TT Bowens doubled. One batter later, Livan Soto walked, loading the bases. Silas Ardoin cracked an two-run single, cutting Jacksonville’s lead in half.
Trailing 4-2, Bowens singled to start the inning. In the next at-bat, José Barrero (8) smashed a two-run home run, tying the game at four. After two consecutive walks, Reed Trimble singled to load the bases. With the bases full, Maverick Handley walked to tack on one more, giving Norfolk a 5-4 lead.
After an off-day Monday, Jacksonville travels to Worcester to begin a six-game series with the Worcester Red Sox in Tuesday’s 6:45 p.m. ET contest. Coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN 690 AM and www.ESPN690.com.
ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins and compete in the International League. The team calls VyStar Ballpark home for baseball but also a wide variety of additional community focused events with a goal of providing Affordable, Family, FUN to Northeast Florida. Winners of many marketing and sales awards and recognition since the team was rebranded prior to the 2017 season, the Jumbo Shrimp continually lead the state of Florida in attendance across all minor league professional sports organizations.