VyStar Ballpark: See what’s new at home of Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
Owner of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Ken Babby, talked about the $31.5 million in renovations done at VyStar Ballpark and Bragan Field MondaycMarch 24, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. Opening day is April 1st against the Worcester Red Sox.
Turning point: Kemp Alderman and Matthew Etzel homered back-to-back in the third inning to push the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp into the lead to stay, defeating the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 6-4 in Game 2 of the International League Championship Series on Sept. 24 and keeping their season alive at VyStar Ballpark.
Series status: The Jumbo Shrimp and the RailRiders, Triple-A affiliates of the New York Yankees, are knotted 1-1 in the best-of-3 series.
Winning against Winans: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ace Allan Winans entered at 12-1 with a 1.63 ERA, but the Jumbo Shrimp hit him hard (3 2/3 innings, six hits, five runs) in a short outing. Jacksonville was the first team to tag Winans for five runs all season.
Super Serna: Second baseman Jared Serna came up big for Jacksonville. He went 3 for 4 and scored two runs, one on a quality slide home for a 5-2 lead.
Spencer Jones watch: Jacksonville pitchers avoided major damage against feared Yankees prospect Spencer Jones. The 6-7, 240-pound outfielder walked twice and did have an RBI but ended 0 for 3.
Wild Shrimp: Thomas Smith, the Miami Marlins‘ No. 1 pitching prospect, lasted just 3 2/3 innings after six walks, but Nigel Belgrave and Matt Pushard kept the RailRiders off the board in the late innings. In all, Jacksonville issued 10 walks and committed three errors.
Up next: The deciding Game 3 is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25 at VyStar Ballpark. This will mark the 63rd anniversary of the last time Jacksonville was host for a winner-take-all game for a league championship, Game 7 of the International League Series on Sept. 25, 1962. The Atlanta Crackers defeated the Jacksonville Suns 3-1 in that game, with the Atlanta battery of Ray Sadecki (135 wins in the majors) and Tim McCarver working a five-hitter.