Shuckers Hold On, Sparks Smashes Two Homers in Wild, 7-5, Win

*KODAK, TN *– With two outs and the tying run on second in the bottom of the ninth, Zach Vennaro blew a slider by Jordan Nwogu to preserve a 7-5 win for the Biloxi Shuckers (66-58, 32-23) over the Tennessee Smokies (68-56, 32-24) at Smokies Stadium on Saturday night. The win extended Biloxi’s win streak to six and gave Biloxi a chance to complete their second sweep of the season on Sunday.

Lamar Sparks started the scoring on the game’s second pitch, dunking a ball off the top of the left-field wall and into the seats for his seventh home run of the year, and a 1-0 Shuckers’ lead. Zavier Warren lined a double to right in the second, scoring Jeferson Quero from third. Two batters later, and barely a half-hour after the game started, Sparks hammered a home run to right for a three-run shot. The home run was his second in as many innings, extending Biloxi’s lead to 5-0. Later in the inning, Jackson Chourio stole second, making Biloxi the ninth Southern League team since 1980 to reach 200 stolen bases in a season.

Shuckers’ starter Christian Mejias dominated the early innings, facing one over the minimum through three. In the fourth, Pable Aliendo singled to center, scoring Owen Caissie from second. An inning later, Bradlee Beesley singled to center, scoring Cole Roederer from second and cutting Biloxi’s lead to 5-3.

The teams remained scoreless until the seventh when Zavier Warren tagged a 381-foot home run to start the inning. The ball, originally ruled foul, was changed to a home run after discussion, giving Biloxi a 6-2 lead. The Smokies answered with a solo shot from Aliendo in the eighth.

In the ninth, Ethan Murray drove in Jason Lopez with a sacrifice fly to left, making it 7-3. A wild pitch led to a Smokies run in the bottom of the inning, cutting the Shuckers’ lead to three. Zach Vennaro entered in a save situation for the Shuckers and allowed a single and a walk to load the bases with one out. Aliendo flew out to Jackson Chourio in center, scoring Owen Caissie from third. The Shuckers thought they nabbed Haydn McGeary tagging up from second, but he was ruled safe ahead of the tag, leading to runners on the corners with two outs. Vennaro then retired Nwogu, locking down his fourth save of the year.

Mejias (6-10) earned the win for Biloxi while Smokies’ starter Kohl Franklin (4-10) took the loss for Tennessee.

The teams will meet for the series final at Smokies Stadium on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CT. Tobias Myers is set to start for Biloxi after throwing a six-inning complete-game shutout in the series opener on Tuesday.

The game can be heard on Cruisin’ WGCM 1240 AM, 100.9 FM with coverage beginning at 12:45 p.m. with the Biloxi Shuckers Pregame Show featuring the Mississippi Army National Guard Pregame Interview. The game can also be seen live on MiLB.tv.

Individual tickets, group outings, Shuck Nation memberships and Flex Plans for the 2023 Biloxi Shuckers season are available now 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.com and follow us on Twitter @biloxishuckers and at facebook.com/biloxishuckers.

ABOUT SHUCKERS BASEBALL, LLC:

Shuckers Baseball, LLC is a MS entity owned and operated by John Tracy. Shuckers Baseball operates the Biloxi Shuckers baseball franchise, including operating MGM Park for Biloxi Shuckers minor league baseball games and other entertainment and recreational events.