Jacksonville sneaks away with one-run win over Charlotte

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Thanks to a solo home run from *Demetrius Sims in the top of the ninth, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp squeaked out a 4-3 win over the Charlotte Knights Friday night at Truist Field.

Down to their final strike in the top of the ninth, Jacksonville (35-29) got some late heroics to take the lead. With two outs, Sims (2) blasted a solo home run with two strikes off Charlotte pitcher Parker Markel (L, 0-1) to put the Jumbo Shrimp ahead 4-3.

The Jumbo Shrimp took the lead first for the second game in a row with a run in the top of the third. Lorenzo Quintana reached on a fielder’s choice and JJ Bleday walked with two outs. With runners on first and second, Peyton Burdick smacked a double, scoring Quintana to put Jacksonville up 1-0.

Charlotte (24-40) took the lead in the fifth after being held without a hit through the first four innings. With one out, Micker Adolfo and Xavier Fernandez tallied back-to-back singles. With two outs, Nick Ciuffo singled and Adolfo to tie the game at one. Fernandez advanced to third and scored two batters later on a single by Tim Anderson to give the Knights a 2-1 lead.

Jacksonville jumped back on top in the top of the seventh. With one out, Santiago Chavez walked and Sims singled to put runners at first and second. With two outs, Brian Miller singled to score Chavez and tie the game at two, a throwing error on the play allowed Sims to score the go-ahead run 3-2.

The Knights tied the game in the bottom of the eighth. Laz Rivera homered on the first pitch of his at-bat against Jumbo Shrimp reliever Andrew Nardi (W, 2-0) to tie the game at three.

The Jumbo Shrimp got a great start from Bryan Hoeing. Hoeing took a perfect game into the fifth inning and finished with six strong innings, allowing two runs on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts. George Soriano tossed one scoreless innings with one strikeout.

Jacksonville continues their series with Charlotte Saturday at 7:04 p.m. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on ESPN 690 and espn690.com.

ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp offer affordable family fun at 121 Financial Ballpark. Their inaugural season garnered the Southern League’s Don Mincher Organization of the Year, Promotional Trophy and Jimmy Bragan Executive of the Year, won by general manager Harold Craw. The club added its second Promotional Trophy in three years following the 2019 season. The 2021 season marked the return of Triple-A baseball in Jacksonville. To experience the excitement with the terrific value of ticket and group options, call the Jumbo Shrimp at (904) 358-2846 or visit www.jaxshrimp.com.