Low-Scoring Affair Goes Against Columbus in 2-1 Loss 

COLUMBUS, Ga., — Atlanta Braves' No. 12 prospect Jhancarlos Lara struck out five in a row in the middle innings to electrify the home crowd, but the Columbus Clingstones (6-7) offense was stymied for much of the evening against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (10-4) on Saturday night at Synovus Park.

Decisive Plays: Joe Mack opened the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the first for the Blue Wahoos. Jared Serna extended the Pensacola lead to 2-0 with an RBI single in the second inning. Cal Conley grounded into a force out in the seventh, but it was enough to score Keshawn Ogans and get the Clingstones back within a run.

Key Contributors: Lara (5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 SO) shook off a rocky start and was unhittable the rest of the way. Cody Milligan (2-for-4) and Cal Conley (1-for-3) combined for the only hits for Columbus. Landon Harper (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO), Craig Kimbrel (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO) and Elison Joseph (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO) combined for 4.0 scoreless innings of relief. For Pensacola, Mack and Serna had the RBIs, while starter Dax Fulton (4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 SO) continued great starting pitching from Pensacola tonight.

Noteworthy: Lara equaled Lucas Braun for the most single-game strikeouts by a Columbus pitcher with nine. In three games with Columbus, Kimbrel has not allowed a run over 3.1 innings with one walk and six strikeouts. Columbus falls to 2-4 in 1-run games.

Next Game (Sunday, April 20): Columbus vs. Pensacola, 1:05 pm ET at Synovus Park. Radio Broadcast: 12:50 pm ET. RHP Blake Burkhalter (1-1, 1.54 ERA) will start for Columbus opposed by LHP Luis Palacios (0-0, 1.29 ERA) for Pensacola.