Sounds Hold off Sky Sox to Earn Series Spilt

The Nashville Sounds closed an eight-game homestand with a 4-3 win over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in front of 9,084 fans at First Tennessee Park Friday night.
The scoring happened early as the Sky Sox plated three runs in the first, and the Sounds bounced back with all four of their runs in the second.
Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the second, the first five batters reached safely for Nashville. Josh Phegley walked, and back-to-back singles by Sheldon Neuse and Slade Heathcott loaded the bases for Jorge Mateo. The shortstop ripped a two-run double down the left field line to make it a 3-2 game.
Nick Martini gave the Sounds the lead when he followed Mateo's double with a two-run single up the middle. Martini's single extended his on-base streak to 22 games.
The pitchers did the rest for the Sounds as the bullpen trio of Raúl Alcántara, J.B. Wendelken and Josh Lucas shut out the Sky Sox the rest of the way.
Starter Chris Bassitt allowed three runs in three innings before giving way to Alcantara in the fourth. The right-hander struck out three over four scoreless inning and picked up his third win of the season.
J.B. Wendelken struck out a pair of batters in a perfect eighth inning and Josh Lucas put up a zero in the ninth to earn his second save of the season.
The Sounds begin an eight-game road trip Saturday night in Memphis. Left-hander Eric Jokisch (0-5, 4.98) starts for Nashville against right-hander Daniel Poncedeleon (2-2, 2.23) for Memphis. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Post-Game Notes

• With tonight's 4-3 win, the Sounds improved to 17-17 on the season.   
• The Sounds finished off the eight-game homestand 5-3. 66,126 fans passed through the gates of First Tennessee Park during the eight home games.
• Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 22 games when he singled to center field in the second inning. Since April 14, Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in.
• Center fielder BJ Boyd had his second three-hit game of the season. Boyd is third on the team with eight multi-hit games this year.
• Right-hander J.B. Wendelken made his first Triple-A appearance since August 23, 2016. Wendelken missed the 2017 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He was transferred from Double-A Midland yesterday. He tossed a scoreless inning with two strikeouts.

The 2018 season is the Sounds' 41st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics' top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.