On Wednesday night, neither the Birmingham Barons nor the Mississippi Braves could find a groove on offense. It was a pitchers battle and thankfully for Birmingham their starting pitcher would shine the brightest. Kade McClure recorded one of his best performances of the season on Wednesday, and helped lead the Barons to a 1-0 11th inning victory over Mississippi.
Across six innings, McClure held the Braves scoreless. The 24-year old starting pitcher would strike out seven batters and allow only two hits. McClure had his way on the mound, but he wouldn’t record the victory, as the Barons failed to score a single run through the first ten innings.
Zach Muckenhirn replaced McClure in the top of the seventh and pitched two innings. Muckenhirn would hold Mississippi scoreless for two more frames, but once again, Birmingham’s offense couldn’t capitalize.
With the score tied 0-0 in the top of the ninth, Caleb Freeman took the mound and made quick work of the Braves’ batters. Braves pitcher Odalvi Javier would do the same, preventing the Barons from recording a single hit in the bottom of the ninth. Time for extra innings.
Two more pitchers took the mound for Birmingham in the tenth and eleventh innings. Anderson Severino and Felix Paulino would combine to strike out two batters and allow only one hit. The Barons’ pitching staff carried the load through eleven innings, but they needed somebody to step up on offense and end this game.
The Barons began the bottom of the 11th with Mitch Roman on second base. Carlos Perez grounded out, advancing Roman to third base. In the next-at bat, Jameson Fisher would hit a grounder down the middle to score Roman and give Birmingham the one-run victory.
The Barons got it done, despite failing to find a rhythm on offense for the entire night. Jameson Fisher, Yolbert Sanchez, and Tyler Neslony were the only players to record hits for Birmingham. The Barons’ pitchers were the X-factor tonight, as McClure dominated the first six innings, and Paulino shut out the top of the 11th inning to earn the win on the mound.
Despite the team’s poor offensive performance, a win is a win. The Barons needed this one after dropping Tuesday night’s season opener by a score of 7-4.
With the victory, Birmingham improves to 43-36. They will face the Braves again on Thursday at 7:05 pm CT.
Photo credit: Caleb Probst/FutureSox
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