Berry slams walk-off homer in ninth
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.
Standing 5-feet-11, with eight home runs in 469 plate appearances in 2025, Jacob Berry might not have seemed like the most likely candidate to deliver the most dramatic home run in Jacksonville professional baseball history.
With one swing of the bat, Berry launched a baseball 429 feet and earned a place in First Coast sports lore.
Berry blasted a two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp past the host Las Vegas Aviators 8-7 and capturing the Triple-A baseball championship in the early hours of Sept. 28 at Las Vegas Ballpark.
“My whole mindset was just get a good pitch to hit,” Berry said on MLB Network after his home run. “It [the final pitch] stayed short right there, and it worked out well for me.”
Two days before, they won the International League. Now they own the Triple-A overall class championship, the single-game final that matches the champions of the International and Pacific Coast Leagues, the first in Jumbo Shrimp history.
In a chaotic game that included 19 pitchers (eight for the Aviators, 11 for the Jumbo Shrimp), six hit batsmen and a blown four-run lead in the ninth by the Jacksonville bullpen, Berry’s homer off reliever Jake Walkinshaw put the icing on a memorable 154-game campaign under manager David Carpenter.
JUMBO SHRIMP RESPOND TO AVIATOR RALLY
Bolstered by a four-run third inning, which included two-run homers by Jack Winkler and Joe Mack, Jacksonville led 6-2 before the second ninth-inning bullpen meltdown in as many games.
Las Vegas chipped away against Matt Pushard and then ace Robby Snelling, finally jumping into a 7-6 lead when Bryan Lavastida slugged a three-run homer to center.
This time, Freddy Tarnok (1-0), who had allowed four ninth-inning runs on Sept. 25 against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, extinguished the fire and Jacksonville fought back.
Winkler reached on a single, and one batter later, it was time for Berry, a 2022 Miami Marlins first-round draft pick who had turned his year around after a .195 first half.
The first pitch from Walkinshaw arrived high in the zone at 97.9 miles per hour. Berry crushed it. In seconds, Jacksonville players swarmed the field in jubilation. Champions.
Now, a Jumbo Shrimp franchise that had earned previous Double-A Southern League championships in 1996, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2014 (an earlier Jacksonville club won Triple-A International League honors in 1968) can hold minor league baseball’s biggest prize of all.
“A lot of great guys. They want to win, they want to play together and it’s been fun,” Berry said. “It’s a really cool atmosphere that the Marlins are building right now.”