Wilfred Veras hit an RBI double off the right field wall to walk off a 6-5 win over Chattanooga at Regions Field today. Win the win, the Barons snapped their six-game losing streak and a 1-1 tie with the Lookouts in the current series.
In the bottom of the first inning, outfielder Duke Ellis slapped a double to left field. The next batter, Brooks Baldwin, singled to center, scoring Ellis. With the run, the Barons took an early 1-0 lead. With a Veras single, Baldwin advanced to third base. A wild pitch scored Baldwin a few pitches later, and the Barons took a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the third inning, Bubba Thompson homered to left field, scoring Jose Torres, and the Lookouts tied the score at 2-2. Thompson played for the Cincinnati Reds early this season, and this was his first hit in Double-A Chattanooga.
In the bottom of the third inning, Ellis had an infield single, stole second, and scored on an Edgar Quero RBI single. The next batter, Veras, singled to center field, Baldwin scored from third base, and the Barons took a 4-2 lead. In the top of the fourth, Miguel Hernandez hit a sacrifice fly to right field, and it scored Austin Hendrick, and the Lookouts now trailed 4-3.
In the top of the fifth inning, Nick Northcut tripled to centerfield, scoring Thompson and Mat Nelson, and the Lookouts took a 5-4 lead. The Barons outfielder missed seeing the flyball due to the bright sunlight that fell behind him, and Northcut wound up on third base. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Tim Elko doubled to deep center field, Alsander Womack singled to drive in Elko, and the game was tied at 5-5.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Veras hit a deep fly ball off the right field wall, and Baldwin scored from second base, and the Barons went on for the 6-5 win.
Starting pitcher Jake Eder pitched five innings, giving up seven hits, five earned runs, and three walks with seven strikeouts, getting the no-decision. In relief, Jordan Mikel, Josimar Cousin, and Adisyn Coffey (3-1, 0.64) pitched four scoreless innings.
Baldwin went 4-for-4, raising his league-leading average to .372, while Veras added three hits and two RBIs in the win. Ellis had two hits and two stolen bases, bringing his total to 24 stolen bases to lead the Southern League.