Shannon Wilkerson had a three-hit night for the Lookouts.
photo by Tim Evearitt
Chattanooga Lookouts right-hander Aaron Slegers pitched seven innings to help his team defeat the Jacksonville Suns, 5-2, for a third straight victory by the home team at AT&T Field Wednesday night.
The Lookouts cashed in on five Suns errors..
The Lookouts (29-30) took the game's first lead in the first inning against Suns left-hander Matt Tomshaw (0-1).
Second baseman Levi Michael and shortstop Leo Reginatto reached on consecutive errors by third baseman Brian Anderson. Right fielder Daniel Palka then lined an RBI single to right field for a 1-0 lead.
Tomshaw stranded six Lookouts on base in the first three innings, but Chattanooga added to its lead in the fourth inning.
Third baseman Engelb Vielma and center fielder Shannon Wilkerson hit consecutive singles to right field, and Michael reached on a bunt to the third-base side. With the bases loaded, a passed ball by catcher Francisco Arcia and consecutive groundouts by Reginatto and Palka scored three runs for a 4-0 Chattanooga lead.
Slegers was lights out for most of the night, surrendering his first run of the game in the fifth. The tall righty finished the night only allowing two runs in seven innings while striking out two.
With the score 4-1 Chattanooga got their lead back to four runs on a solo blast by Stuart Turner.
Jacksonville scored one more run, but Trevor Hildenberger entered the game in the ninth and recorded a 1-2-3 inning for his eighth save of the season. The closer has now lowered his ERA to 0.86 on the year.
Thursday, the Lookouts will attempt to reach .500 for the first time this year as they face the Suns in game five.
First pitch for Thirsty Thursday is set for 11:15 and will feature RHP Kohl Stewart in his first home start against RHP Patrick Johnson.
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