The Biloxi Shuckers (38-25) exploded for eight runs in the final three frames to run away with an 11-4 victory over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (25-36) on Sunday afternoon at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Jake Hager homered for the fourth consecutive day and Corey Ray went 4-for-4 with a
The Biloxi Shuckers (38-25) exploded for eight runs in the final three frames to run away with an 11-4 victory over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (25-36) on Sunday afternoon at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Jake Hager homered for the fourth consecutive day and Corey Ray went 4-for-4 with a walk in the win.
Tied at three in the seventh, Blake Allemand was hit by a pitch from RHP Max Duval (L,1-6) to start the frame and moved to third on a double by Trent Grisham. With Mitch Ghelfi batting, Duval uncorked a wild pitch, scoring Allemand to give the Shuckers a 4-3 lead. Isan Díaz robbed Ghelfi of a single on an excellent defensive play before Nick Ramirez worked a walk, placing men on the edges for Ray. The Shuckers centerfielder delivered his fourth hit of the day, a single to right that scored Grisham, widening the Shuckers advantage to 5-3. Two batters later, Hager stepped to the plate and planted a 1-1 fastball over the left field fence, his tenth home run of the season, busting the game open at 8-3. Hager has now homered in four consecutive games, hitting five in that span after a multi-home run effort on Saturday night.
Ramirez (W, 8-0) picked up his league-leading eighth win of the season, tossing 1.2 innings of scoreless ball, walking three and striking out one. RHP Jon Olczak kept the Jumbo Shrimp off the board in the eighth, hurling 1.1 innings and allowing just a walk and striking out one.
Biloxi added three more runs in the top of the ninth inning. Following a walk to Jake Gatewood, Lucas Erceg unloaded on a fastball, hitting it over the bleachers in right field and out of the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville for his fifth home run of the season. On the very next pitch, Blake Allemand homered to right field, his second of the season, going back-to-back with Erceg. It is just the third time in franchise history that two Shuckers batters have hit back-to-back home runs.
Ray was right in the middle of the Shuckers early scoring. He doubled in the first at bat of the game and stole third. Troy Stokes Jr. then walked, putting men on the corners for Hager. Though he didn't come away with a hit, Hager picked up a sacrifice fly to plate Ray, giving the Shuckers a 1-0 lead. Gatewood doubled to left in the ensuing at bat, scoring Stokes to make it 2-0.
Almost a carbon copy in the third, Ray started the inning with a double and moved to third on a passed ball. Stokes walked and Hager hit into a double play, taking away an RBI chance but bringing home Ray to stretch the Shuckers lead to 3-0.
Peter O'Brien erased the Shuckers lead in the bottom of the third. RHP Zack Brown hit Monte Harrison with a pitch and walked Isan Diaz, sending O'Brien to the plate with two men on base. O'Brien took Brown deep for his fifth home run of the season and fifth in as many days, knotting the game at three all. Brown pitched five innings, allowing three runs on three hits while walking three and striking out three.
Game Four of a five-game series against the Jumbo Shrimp is on Monday night at 7:05 PM EST. The Shuckers will send LHP Kodi Medeiros (4-3, 4.11) to the hill against RHP Kolton Mahoney (3-3, 1.73). The game can be heard locally on Cruisin' WGCM AM 1240/100.9 FM, TuneIn Radio or the MiLB First Pitch App.
Single game tickets for the Biloxi Shuckers 2018 season are on sale now and can be purchased at the MGM Park box office or over the phone through Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Season tickets, flex plans and group outings are also available and can be reserved by calling 228-233-3465 or visiting www.biloxishuckers.com.
ABOUT THE BILOXI SHUCKERS:
The Biloxi Shuckers are the Double-A Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Shuckers play at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. For more information please visit biloxishuckers.com and follow us on Twitter @biloxishuckers and at facebook.com/biloxishuckers.com.
