Late Rally Propels Hot Chickens to Victory in Series Finale

NASHVILLE – The Nashville Hot Chickens (38-37) comeback to win a thriller versus the Durham Bulls (36-39), 5-4, on Sunday afternoon at First Horizon Park.

With the Sounds down 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth, Brewer Hicklen clubbed a 423-foot blast to tie the game. Two batters later, Eric Haase gave Nashville their first lead of the game on a 440-foot moonshot.

Garrett Stallings got the start for the Sounds and was hurt by the long ball. Two of the five hits he allowed across his five innings were two-run homers. But with the late comeback, Stallings escaped being charged with the loss.

The game started with both teams scoring two runs in the first inning. Curtis Mead from Durham hit a two-run home run in the top of the first that barely got out of the yard down the left-field line. Nashville tied the game at two thanks to a Hicken single into left field which scored Garrett Mitchell and Joey Wiemer. The Sounds had all three of their stolen bases for the game in the first inning.

Durham went on to take a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning on the second two-run home run of the game given up by Stallings. Nashville fought back in the bottom of the fifth with a double to center field by Wiemer which scored Patrick Dorrian from first base and cut the Bulls lead to 4-3.

Mitch White (1-2) was tasked with the bulk of the innings out of the bullpen after he replaced Stallings. White went 3 1/3 innings with one hit allowed, zero earned runs and had three strikeouts. He ran into trouble in the sixth inning when he loaded the bases with nobody out. But White got a batter to popout and induced an inning-ending double play to get out of the inning unscathed. Janson Junk entered the game for White with one out in the ninth and finished the game for his first save of the season.

Nashville travels down to Jacksonville to open a six-game series starting on Tuesday. Both starters in the series opener are to be announced. The first pitch from 121 Financial Ballpark is set for 6:05 in Jacksonville against the Jumbo Shrimp.

Post-Game Notes

• The Sounds finish the first half of its Triple-A season at 38-37. If not for the late rally, Nashville would have fallen under .500 for the first time since May 19 (7-3 loss at Jacksonville). Last season, the Sounds finished the first half at 40-34 with Garrett Stallings getting the loss for Norfolk in the finale on June 25, 2023.
• Entering today, the Sounds were 4-31 when trailing after the seventh inning. On the flipside, they are now 13-6 when hitting two home runs. Nashville has outscored their opponents 44-30 in the eighth inning this season.
• Brewer Hicklen hit his 12^th home run on the season which leads the team. It was Hicklen’s first home run since May 25. Eric Haase hit his ninth home run which tied with Isaac Collins and Tyler Black for second place.
• Mitch White earned his first win with the Sounds and his first since March 31 at Tampa Bay while pitching for Toronto. Janson Junk earned his second career professional save with his first occurring in 2021 for Double-A Somerset.

The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and play at First Horizon Park. Single-game tickets and season ticket memberships for the remainder of the 2024 season are on sale now. For more information call 615-690-4487 or e-mail [email protected].