The Columbus Clingstones (9-7, 38-42) saw their three-game winning streak come to an end in a 10-1 loss to the Birmingham Barons (6-10, 32-53) on Friday night at Synovus Park.
Decisive Plays: Pitching by both clubs was dominant through the first three innings, keeping the game scoreless until Birmingham erupted in the fourth inning. Boston Smith (3) launched a three-run homer before Colby Shelton (8) followed a few batters later with a two-run shot to give the Barons a 5-0 lead.
The Clingstones scored their lone run in the bottom of the fifth on a Keshawn Ogans RBI single that plated Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. Columbus managed just one more hit the rest of the way, a Dalton McIntyre single in the sixth inning.
Birmingham added five more runs across the seventh and eighth innings to seal the 10-1 victory.
Key Contributors: Ogans (2-for-3, RBI) drove in the lone Columbus run. Kilpatrick Jr. (1-for-4) and McIntyre (1-for-3) recorded the only other Clingstones hits.
Notable: The Clingstones pitching staff struck out 10 batters, bringing their second-half total to 187 strikeouts, which leads all of Minor League Baseball, and 52 strikeouts through the first four games of the series against Birmingham.
Next Game (Saturday, July 11): Columbus vs. Birmingham, 6:05 p.m. ET at Synovus Park. RHP Brett Sears (2-3, 4.17 ERA) starts for Columbus against RHP Gabe Davis (0-4, 9.38 ERA) for Birmingham. Radio Broadcast: 5:50 p.m. ET on SportsVisions 92.1 FM. Stream: Bally Sports Live.