Bennett Leads Charge In Shuckers' Shutout Win Over Montgomery
Behind six scoreless innings from their starter, the Biloxi Shuckers (37-39, 3-6 2nd Half) blanked the Montgomery Biscuits (34-37, 6-3 2nd Half) in a 2-0 victory on Thursday night at Riverwalk Stadium. LHP Nick Bennett (W, 4-7) took the hill for the Shuckers and turned in the best outing of
Behind six scoreless innings from their starter, the Biloxi Shuckers (37-39, 3-6 2nd Half) blanked the Montgomery Biscuits (34-37, 6-3 2nd Half) in a 2-0 victory on Thursday night at Riverwalk Stadium.
LHP Nick Bennett (W, 4-7) took the hill for the Shuckers and turned in the best outing of his Minor League career. The lefty ran into trouble in the first when a runner reached on an error with one out, followed by a single to center that put runners on first and second. Bennett responded by striking out the next two batters, striking out the side in a scoreless first.
On the other side, RHP Taj Bradley retired the first 11 Shuckers’ hitters he faced. Biloxi did not record a hit until a single by Andruw Monasterio with two outs in the third. Biloxi’s only other hit off the righty during his six innings of work was a lead-off single by Thomas Dillard in the top of the fifth.
Bennett matched Bradley all night long, allowing just three total hits across six scoreless frames. He gave up a lead-off double to Niko Hulsizer in the bottom of the second but retired the next nine batters in order, including eight strikeouts through his first four frames. The former Louisville Cardinal set a new career high with his ninth strikeout in the sixth, getting Greg Jones to strike out swinging for the first out. Bennett issued his only walk with two outs in the home half of the sixth but got a lineout to center to close out his night.
The Shuckers broke through in the top of the seventh. Facing RHP Carlos Garcia (L, 5-1), Dillard worked a walk, his league-leading 56th free pass, before Felix Valerio was hit by a pitch. Cam Devanney laced a single to center, driving in Dillard to break the gridlock and give the Shuckers a 1-0 lead. Gabe Holt followed with a single to left, doubling the Biloxi advantage to 2-0.
RHP Nash Walters (H, 7) hurled a perfect seventh inning, striking out two in the process. In the eighth, RHP Harold Chirino (H, 1) dealt with two runners on base thanks to a walk and a single but stranded both runners to preserve the shutout. RHP Zach Vennaro (S, 8) entered in the ninth and struck out the first batter he faced. A walk, a single and a hit batter loaded up the bases, but Vennaro induced a ground ball up the middle from Garrett Hiott that turned into a 4-6-3 double play that ended the contest.
Biloxi continues their six-game series against the Biscuits on Friday night at Riverwalk Stadium. Biloxi will send LHP Brandon Knarr (0-1, 3.81) to the hill against Montgomery LHP John Doxakis (0-2, 6.33) for a 6:35 pm first pitch. The game can be seen on MiLB.TV and heard locally on WGCM AM 1240/FM 100.9 or online here. Individual tickets, Shuck Nation Memberships, Flex Plans and group outings are available for the 2022 season by calling (228) 233-3465 or visiting biloxishuckers.com.
ABOUT THE BILOXI SHUCKERS:
The Biloxi Shuckers are the Double-A Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Shuckers are members of the Southern League and play at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. For more information please visit biloxishuckers.comand follow us on Twitter @biloxishuckers and at facebook.com/biloxishuckers.