Jacksonville 5, Carolina 2

Zebulon, NC- Jacksonville outfielder Anthony Raglani provided the fireworks for the Suns (13-4) on Independence Day at Five County Stadium, beating the Carolina Mudcats 5-2.

Raglani hit two solo home runs in the second and ninth inning to give the Suns some offense on a night they recorded 11 hits. Ralgani now has 14 dingers and 49 RBI, but was not the only Suns player with a home run. Catcher Alberto Concepcion also had a solo shot, his eighth on the year.

After hitting the outfield wall twice, Mudcats (7-10) third baseman Lee Mitchell finally got it over the fence in the ninth inning. Mitchell’s leadoff homer in the ninth was his second run scored on the night. Mitchell was driven in by a bang-bang at the plate in the second inning. Mitchell slid into the left leg of Suns catcher Concepcion, causing him to drop the ball at home.

Those two runs were all the offense Carolina could muster, tallying six hits. The Mudcats had two strong opportunities they could not capitalize on. The first came after a fourth inning one out double by Mitchell, but he was eventually stranded. Then with runners on first and second, Jai Miller struck out to end the seventh.

Florida Marlins minor league pitcher for the month of June Gaby Hernandez continued his tear on Southern League hitters. Hernandez went seven innings allowing three earned while scattering eight hits. Unfortunately, Hernandez didn’t get much run support as his record drops to 4-8 on the year.

Jimmy Serrano (1-1, 3.13) will pitch for Carolina tomorrow night at 7:15. Serrano will oppose Alvis Ojeda (3-4, 4.96) and the Suns.   

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Jacksonville 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 5 11 0 Carolina 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 6 1