M-Braves smash club-record seven home runs to beat Wahoos 9-3, stop losing streak

PEARL, MS - The Mississippi Braves ended their eight-game losing streak in historic fashion on Tuesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium, blasting a club-record seven home runs by six different players, winning 9-3 to open the road trip. Shea Langeliers hit two home runs to tie him for the league lead, while Justin Dean, Braden Shewmake, Drew Lugbauer, Greyson Jenista, and Wendell Rijo also went deep.

Pensacola starter Kyle Nicolas no-hit the M-Braves through his first five innings in his Double-A debut, and the Wahoos took a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning. Nicolas exited the game after being struck by a line drive to end the fifth inning.

Andrew Nardi took over for Nicolas, and the M-Braves greeted him rudely. Shewmake singled to open the sixth to end the no-hit bid. Then, after a Langeliers fly out, Lugbauer smashed his 10th home run of the season to center, and the M-Braves ended the shutout and took the lead 2-1. The next batter, Wendell Rijo, drew a walk, and Jenista lined a homer down the right-field line to make it 4-1. Jenista's homer was his 10th of the year as well.

The M-Braves greeted reliever Tyler Stevens even more rudely in the seventh inning. Dean homered to start the inning, his fourth on the season. With one out, Shewmake and Langeliers hit back-to-back homers to push the lead to 7-1. With two outs, Rijo became the fourth M-Braves player to reach double-digit home runs with his 10th of the season to cap a four-homer inning, the first in club history, and it was 8-1. The M-Braves record of three homers in one inning was set in 2007 and lasted 14 years. Rijo became the sixth Mississippi player to go deep, also a new club record for one game.

M-Braves starter Victor Vodnik and reliever Matt Withrow (W, 2-0) combined for six innings of one-run baseball. Vodnik went 3.2 innings, and Withrow tossed 2.1 innings. Emmanuel Ramirez surrendered a run in the seventh inning to give the Blue Wahoos their second run. Indigo Diaz struck out two and walked one in a scoreless eighth inning. Over 33.2 innings, Diaz has 65 strikeouts, and 10 walks over his time with Rome and Mississippi, including 11 strikeouts and three walks in 6.2 innings and four outings for the M-Braves.

Langeliers blasted his second home run of the game off the batter's eye in centerfield to open the top of the ninth inning to push the lead to 9-2. It was the former first-rounder's second of the game and 17th on the season. Tuesday's game marked his third multi-homer game his season. He now has eight home runs in 16 games against the Blue Wahoos this season.

Brandon White surrendered a run in the ninth inning to make the final 9-3.

All nine runs came off of the seven home runs on Tuesday night. The M-Braves have now matched the total number of homers hit by the 2019 M-Braves over 139 games. The 2021 club did it in 73 games. The M-Braves have hit 52 home runs on the road this season and 35 at Trustmark Park.

The M-Braves will look to start a winning streak on Wednesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium. RHP Bryce Elder (3-1, 3.60) will start for the M-Braves in a battle of pitching prospects against RHP Max Meyer (4-1, 1.80) for Pensacola. The first pitch is set for 6:35 pm, with coverage on 103.9 WYAB, mississippibraves.com, and MiLB.tv.

The M-Braves will return to Trustmark Park and host the Biloxi Shuckers again, August 10-15. The series will be highlighted by Clunker Car Night and a Cristian Pache bobblehead giveaway. Tickets may be purchased HERE, or by calling 888-BRAVES4 or stopping by the Trustmark Park box office Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.