BayBears fall to Barons in 16th inning

HOOVER, Ala. - A 16-inning, 4-hour, 33-minute marathon at Regions Park on Tuesday ended with Christian Marrero lining a base hit over Evan Frey's head in center to bring home David Cook in a 5-4 Birmingham Barons' victory over the BayBears.

Cook began the frame by reaching on a bloop double that fell between Pedro Ciriaco and Frey against Scott Maine (2-2). Maine, the fifth reliever for the BayBears (41-38, 4-5), forced Dayan Viciedo to ground to short, keeping Cook at second before an intentional walk to Stefan Gartrell set up Marrero's heroics. Prior to that at-bat, Marrero was 0-for-6 on the evening.

The BayBears had the lead initially on Tuesday with Bryan Byrne singling home Frey in the first inning against starter John Ely. James Skelton started the third with a triple off the wall in right-center and scored on a grounder by Frey to make it 2-0.

Cody Evans was looking sharp early and was given a four-run padding with Mark Hallberg's two-run double in the fourth which brought home Cyle Hankerd and Ricardo Sosa. Evans let the Barons (52-25, 4-4) chip away, beginning in the bottom of the fourth as Robbie Hudson doubled and scored on a groundout by Viciedo. Gartrell homered to cut the BayBear lead in half.

Birmingham continued to peck back with a run in the fifth as Javier Colina doubled, took third on a bunt hit by Jared Price and scored on a sac fly by C.J. Lang. Cook finished off the comeback with his league-high 16th tater in the sixth.

It remained knotted at 4-4 for another 10 innings while both bullpens were stellar. Mobile native Chase Christianson didn't allow a hit in three scoreless frames. Josh Ellis tossed three perfect innings while fanning a career-high seven. Daniel Stange carried the BayBears through the 14th while Maine recorded a scoreless 15th. Ricky Brooks (2-0) fired four zeroes for the Barons after Jhonny Nunez, Fernando Hernandez and Matt Long were spotless.

The BayBears continue their six-game series with the Barons on Wednesday night at 7:05 as Southern League All-Star Barry Enright (5-6, 3.92) takes the hill. The BayBears return to Mobile for Independence Day, Saturday, July 4, as they'll host the Chattanooga Lookouts at 7:05 p.m. For Hank Aaron Stadium tickets, call (251) 479-BEAR or log on to www.mobilebaybears.com .