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By DAVID BRANDT
dbrandt@jacksonsun.com
06/23 2005

Suns overcome ejections in win

Jacksonville 5, Jaxx 4 (11)

Cooler heads belonged to the Diamond Jaxx on Wednesday afternoon, but that doesn't mean it led to a win.

The Jacksonville Suns had three starters ejected and trailed most of the game, but rallied late to beat the Jaxx, 5-4, in 11 innings at Pringles Park.

''Sometimes, tempers get a little more heated then you would like to see,'' Jacksonville manager John Shoemaker said. ''We almost got caught at the end with having to play pitchers out in the field. I'm glad it didn't come to that.''

The Suns' Todd Donovan, Jon Weber and James Loney were kicked out of the game in rapid-fire succession in the seventh inning for arguing calls with the umpires. Left with a skeleton crew, Jacksonville used several players out of position but still found a way to win the game.

Sergio Garcia hit an RBI single off Jaxx reliever Jon Connolly (2-2) in the 11th inning that gave the Suns their final margin.

The Jaxx (45-26, 1-1 second half) had a terrific chance to win in the bottom of the 11th, but Brandon Sing was thrown out trying to score from second base after Jacksonville shortstop Joel Guzman made an error on a ground ball. After locating the ball, Guzman wheeled and fired a strike to home plate and Sing was out by at least 15 feet.

Sitting behind his desk in the clubhouse and shaking his head after the game, Jaxx manager Bobby Dickerson admitted he probably made a mistake.

''I really thought the ball got farther away from Guzman, and Sing would be able to score easily,'' Dickerson said. ''But I just misread it. Then Guzman made a perfect throw, too.''

The late theatrics from Jacksonville overshadowed an encouraging outing for Sean Marshall, who pitched five strong innings in his first Double-A start of 2005. Marshall made six starts with the Jaxx in 2004, but was sidelined for a large chunk of the season after hurting a tendon in the middle finger of his pitching hand.

At 6-foot-6 and left-handed, Marshall is the No. 7 prospect for the Cubs, according to Baseball America, throwing his fastball in the low-90s. After giving up a three-run homer in the first inning to Andy LaRoche (brother of Atlanta Braves first baseman Adam LaRoche), Marshall settled down nicely, allowing four hits and two walks.

''After my first inning I started to slow the game down and pitched like I did down in Single-A,'' Marshall said.

Jacksonville (39-33, 1-1 second half) pounded out 14 hits to West Tenn's nine. Jaxx right fielder Adam Greenberg was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Sing hit his 13th home run of the season in the fourth inning to tie the game at 3-3. The Jaxx were aggressive on the bases, stealing five times. West Tenn's 100 steals rank second in the Southern League.

The Jaxx face Jacksonville at 7:05 p.m. today in the third of a four-game series. Ricky Nolasco (6-0) will take the mound to face Jacksonville's Justin Orenduff, who's making his first start of the season in Double-A.

- David Brandt, 425-9636

Game sketch