The game was never really in doubt after a 5-0 start, even through rain delays and game suspensions
After another four innings to finish up in continuance of Wednesday’s game — and yes, ANOTHER rain delay — the Birmingham Barons clinched their second straight Southern League title with a 6-3 win at the Montgomery Biscuits.
Tyler Davis came on to finish things up in the ninth, after causing a mild fright after a one-out solo shot to cut the lead to three runs. Rikuu Nishida, who was a sparkplug throughout the playoffs, caught the final out in right field:
Hagen Smith, one of the White Sox’s top prospects, started on the mound for Birmingham and was difficult for Montgomery to solve. In the first four innings, only three Biscuits reached base safely against Smith (two walks and a single), and he stranded all of those runners. The Biscuits got on the board against the Barons in the bottom of the fifth, when Smith issued back-to-back walks to open the inning and Brock Jones hit an RBI single. That single reduced Montgomery’s deficit to four, and that is when the rains came.
That also created a key juncture in Thursday’s suspended game resumption right out of the gate. Caleb Freeman came on to put out Smith’s fire as play started back up — and made things downright bad by walking Homer Bush Jr. in a hard-fought at-bat. But the righthander rescued Birmingham from danger, wriggling away with a K, sac fly and pop out to keep the lead at 5-2.
Birmingham tacked on a run in the eighth using particularly pesky means to set the table. Nishida got on with one out due to fielding error, then stole second. William Bergolla followed with a walk, and a Sam Antonacci double pushed Nishida home.
The bottom half shook hands with danger once again, as Adisyn Coffey came on and allowed two baserunners with a one-out single and walk. He and the Barons D came up clutch, weaving a 4-6-3 double play to escape trouble.
Beyond that solo shot in the bottom of the ninth that stirred the few dozen fans who made it back to Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium to witness the continuation, the ninth inning went quietly, sealing another Barons title.
The finish came in contrast to the noisy offense the Barons strung together to put the game out of reach early.
In the top of the third, the contact and speed threats, Nishida and Bergolla, did what they do best. Nishida hit an infield single, and a throwing error allowed him to advance to second to open the frame. Bergolla followed with a single to center to put runners at the corners with no outs. Although Antonacci struck out, a wild pitch allowed Nishida to score the game’s first run. Ryan Galanie reached on an error, and Caden Connor lined a single to drive in Bergolla and double Birmingham’s lead.
The Barons took that 2-0 lead into the fifth, when their offense went back to work. Antonacci and Galanie hit back-to-back singles to open that inning. Connor and Alec Makarewicz were retired, but Calvin Harris walked to load the bases and extend the inning. Stolen base machine Jordan Sprinkle stepped up to the plate, and he showed that he can deliver at the plate, too, as he lined a clutch double to clear the bases. That was an enormous hit for the speedy infielder, pushing the lead to 5-0.
Congratulations to the Birmingham Barons, a club that’s trying to singlehandedly force winning back into the White Sox organization!
Category: General Sports
