PEARL, MS -- It wasn't until two outs in the seventh inning that the Mississippi Braves (29-28) found a base hit against the Biloxi Shuckers (30-27) in game two at Trustmark Park, but the scrappy home team still found a way to take a 4-2 victory and a commanding two games
PEARL, MS -- It wasn't until two outs in the seventh inning that the Mississippi Braves (29-28) found a base hit against the Biloxi Shuckers (30-27) in game two at Trustmark Park, but the scrappy home team still found a way to take a 4-2 victory and a commanding two games to none lead in the series.
Right-hander Mike Soroka, the Braves No. 4 prospect, took the mound for the M-Braves and turned in a minor league career-best performance. The 19-year-old scattered three hits and nine strikeouts over eight scoreless innings to pick up his team and league-leading seventh win. Soroka (7-3) allowed a single in the first inning and two singles in the sixth, but was perfect in his other six frames.
The Braves used two arms in relief in the ninth, with Jason Hursh striking out the final batter for his fifth save of the season. Rex Brothers allowed two runs on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts before giving way to Hursh.
Biloxi sent Bubba Derby (2-1) out for his first start of the season, and the right-hander did not disappoint. Derby was near-perfect through six, allowing only one runner to reach on a dropped third strike. Usually a reliever, Derby recorded career highs in innings and strikeouts at the Double-A level with 6.2 innings pitched and nine strikeouts.
However, the seventh proved to be too much for Derby, as the M-Braves plated the first run of the game with two outs. Joey Meneses got the first hit of the game for Mississippi with a single up the middle. Levi Hyams followed with a single, moving Meneses to third. Connor Lien then delivered an RBI-single through the left side to give the Braves the lead.
In the eighth, Mississippi tacked on three more runs off of reliever Josh Uhen. A Keith Curcio single was followed by a hit batter and a walk, loading the bases for Meneses, who delivered with a RBI single. Two wild pitches allowed two more runs to score, giving the M-Braves a 4-0 lead heading to the ninth.
Biloxi scored two runs on a two-out double by Dustin DeMuth, but it was too little, too late.
The M-Braves were led by Meneses' 2-for-4 night with an RBI. Curcio, Hyams and Lien all added a single with Lien picking up his 15th RBI of the year. Game three is set for 7:00 PM Wednesday at Trustmark Park.
Biloxi: 2-5-1
Mississippi: 4-5-0
WP: Mike Soroka, 7-3
LP: Bubba Derby, 2-1
SV: Jason Hursh, 5
Attn: 1,326
Time: 2:25
