Sounds Win Walk-Off Thriller in Front of Sellout Crowd

Weston Wilson delivered the knockout punch with a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Nashville Sounds a thrilling 4-3 win over the Memphis Redbirds in front of a sellout crowd of 10,861 fans at First Horizon Park Saturday night.

A wild back-and-forth affair saw the Sounds and Redbirds tied at 3-3 after nine innings. Memphis nearly took the lead in the top of the 10th but Dustin Peterson’s perfect throw from left field cut down a sliding Austin Dean at the plate.

Nashville nearly won it earlier in the bottom of the 10th on a line drive off the pitcher by Hernán Pérez. The ball caromed off Austin Warner and made its way to the right fielder Dean, who picked it up and threw out Keston Hiura at the plate.

Wilson then stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter and drilled a 1-0 pitch from Warner over the outstretched arms of Matt Szczur in left field. Jace Peterson raced home with the winning run to give the Sounds their first extra-inning win of the season.

Armed with a 2-0 lead, Memphis pitchers took a no-hitter into the bottom of the eighth when Nashville sparked a rally. Reliever Jesus Cruz issued back-to-back walks to Tim Lopes and Dylan Cozens to start the inning. Peterson broke up the no-hit bid with a line-drive single to right field to load the bases.

After a strikeout, Peterson laced a base hit into right field to score Lopes and Cozens to even the game at 2-2. In a nine-pitch battle with Memphis reliever Roel Ramirez, Pérez lifted a fly ball to right-center field deep enough to score Peterson from third with a go-ahead run.

But Memphis answered back in the top of the ninth with a run off Quintin Torres-Costa. Jose Rondon’s RBI fielder’s choice made it a 3-3 game. Tim Lopes made a spectacular diving catch to end the inning and keep it tied.

Neither team scored until the eighth inning. Sounds starter Alec Bettinger and reliever Clayton Andrews kept Memphis off the scoreboard for the first seven innings. Bettinger struck out eight batters and limited the Redbirds to three hits in five innings.

Memphis scored a pair of runs in the top of the eighth off Miguel Sánchez to take a 2-0 lead but Nashville answered with the three in the bottom half.

The series finale is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at First Horizon Park. Right-hander Thomas Jankins (0-1, 18.36) starts for Nashville against right-hander Miles Mikolas (0-1, 7.11) for Memphis. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• Tonight’s attendance at First Horizon Park was 10,861, the largest crowd of the season and the second straight sellout.
• Starter Alec Bettinger struck out 8 batters tonight, the most by a Sounds pitcher in 2021.
• Bettinger’s 5.0 innings matched Blaine Hardy’s 5.0 on May 13 v. Memphis as the longest outing by a Nashville pitcher in 2021.
• Nashville hitters drew a season-best 10 walks. Christian Yelich, Dylan Cozens and Mario Feliciano drew two apiece.
• Tonight’s game was Nashville’s first extra inning contest of the season.

The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and play at First Horizon Park. Single-game tickets are on sale now for all remaining 2021 home games. For more information call 615-690-4487 or e-mail [email protected].