Trailing by five runs for the majority of the night, the Biloxi Shuckers (43-33, 2-4 2nd Half) traded three-run blows with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (41-35, 3-3 2nd Half) late on Tuesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium, but fell in the series opener 8-3. To begin the only series meeting
Trailing by five runs for the majority of the night, the Biloxi Shuckers (43-33, 2-4 2nd Half) traded three-run blows with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (41-35, 3-3 2nd Half) late on Tuesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium, but fell in the series opener 8-3. To begin the only series meeting between the two clubs in the second half, Biloxi was blanked until the eighth inning until a swing from Patrick Leonard made it a two-run game.
Down 5-0, Zack Weiss entered the game from the Pensacola bullpen and walked the leadoff hitter Luis Aviles Jr. to start the eighth. A wild pitch advanced Aviles into scoring position for Dillon Thomas who singled home his man to put the Shuckers on the board for the first time. Leonard, the next man up, proceeded to cork a deep fly ball out to center field and clear the fence for a two-run home run and make it a 5-3 game. The home run was Leonard's eighth of the season and third of the second half.
Alex Kirilloff responded in the bottom of the eight with a leadoff double against Aaron Kurcz and Jimmy Kerrigan saw a fly ball to right dropped by Thomas to put two in scoring position. Mark Contreras was intentionally walked to load the bases before Aaron Whitefield bounced into an RBI fielder's choice to make it 6-3. Jordan Gore put the Blue Wahoos back up by five in the next at bat with an outfield single to score two and cap the advantage at 8-3.
While the bottom of Pensacola's order supplied the late run support, the two-hitter, Lewin Diaz, provided four of the five Blue Wahoos runs over the first two innings. Diaz clubbed a solo home run off Cameron Roegner (L, 1-2) in the first inning and then ripped a three-run triple in the second to make it 5-0. Due to a fielding error in the second, only one of the four runs in the inning was earned. Roegner worked into the sixth, going 5.2 innings, walking three and striking out five in the loss.
His second time facing the Shuckers this season, Bryan Sammons (W, 2-1) tossed scoreless baseball over the first half of the game. Sammons struck out six over five frames and allowed just two hits, including a double to Alexander Alvarez in the third inning. Anthony Vizcaya blanked the Shuckers for two additional innings before the three-run eighth.
The Shuckers continue their road series with the Blue Wahoos on Wednesday with first pitch at 6:35 PM from Blue Wahoos Stadium. The Shuckers will send RHP Alec Bettinger (4-5, 4.01) to the mound and Pensacola will throw RHP Randy Dobnak (3-0, 2.38). The game can be heard locally in Biloxi on Cruisin' WGCM AM 1240/100.9 FM, TuneIn Radio or the MiLB First Pitch App and can be seen on MiLB.TV. Fans can save $10 off their subscription when they use the promo code 'Shuckers' at checkout.
Full Season Shuck Nation memberships, Weekender Shuck Nation memberships and Group Outings for the 2019 Biloxi Shuckers season are on sale now and are available for purchase by calling 228-233-3465, online at biloxishuckers.com or by visiting the MGM Park front office.
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.
