Gartrell slams Barons past Suns

Gartrell slams Barons past Suns

By J.P. Shadrick

HOOVER, AL - Stefan Gartrell belted a third inning three-run homerun followed by a fourth inning grand slam, finishing with seven RBI while leading the Birmingham Barons (44-32, 2-4) to a 12-4 Sunday afternoon victory over the Jacksonville Suns (35-41, 2-4) in front of 2,241 at Regions Park.

The Barons took the six-game series four games to two and now lead the season series ten games to six. The two teams will meet again August 23-27 at the Baseball Grounds.

Jacksonville took an early lead against Barons starter Kyle McCulloch when a Jamie Hoffmann single scored James Tomlin three batters into the first inning for a 1-0 lead. The Suns made it 3-0 

Jamie Hoffmann

in the second as an Adam Godwin fielder's choice RBI scored Russell Mitchell and a two-out error from Barons first baseman Micah Schnurstein scored Aldolfo Gonzalez.

Birmingham tied the game against Suns starter Cody White in the second inning when Stefan Gartrell smashed a three-run homerun to right-centerfield for a 3-3 score.

The Barons took the lead for good in the third inning when Gartrell hit an opposite-field grand slam homerun to open a 7-3 lead. Gartrell finished 2-3 with seven RBI, two short of tying a Southern League record for RBI in a game.

Birmingham added another run in the fourth inning off White as Cole Armstrong singled home Javier Colina for an 8-3 lead.

White allowed eight runs on ten hits over four innings of work in his fourth Double-A outing.

Birmingham capped off the Sunday affair in the seventh inning off of former Barons reliever Edwardo Sierra. Eric Hollis singled home Stefan Gartrell for a 9-3 lead. Later, Victor Mercedes belted his fourth homerun of the season, a three-run blast that opened a 12-3 lead. All four Mercedes homeruns in 2008 have come against Jacksonville.

The Suns scored their final run in the ninth on an Ivan DeJesus, Jr. sacrifice fly to end the scoring at 12-4.

Kyle McCulloch (5-6) picked up the win for the Barons while Cody White (2-1) fell in the loss for the Suns.

Suns RH James McDonald will face Chattanooga Lookouts LH Travis Wood on Tuesday at the Baseball Grounds in the beginning of a 10-game homestand. Tuesday is a special 12:05 first pitch for summer campers with senior citizen discounts available. Tickets are available by calling (904) 358-2846 or by visiting  www.jaxsuns.com.