Shuckers Clobber Franchise Record Five Homers In 13-3 Rout Of Barons

Five different players homered to set a new Biloxi Shuckers (15-17) franchise record for homers in a contest as part of a 13-3 win over the Birmingham Barons (13-19) on Saturday night at MGM Park.

Following a scoreless first three innings, the Shuckers cracked the scoreboard in the fourth. Felix Valerio led off with a single and swiped second before Thomas Dillard sliced a double to left, plating Valerio to make it 1-0. In his first game off the development list, Tristen Lutz launched a two-run homer to left, his third of the season, pushing Biloxi ahead 3-0.

Welcome Back Tristen Lutz! Shuckers score three runs in the fourth inning to lead 3-0.#ShuckYeah pic.twitter.com/EVo4Aim7Ho

— Biloxi Shuckers (@BiloxiShuckers) May 15, 2022

On the mound, RHP Tyler Herb (W, 3-1) kept the ball on the ground the whole night, tossing six scoreless innings. The righty induced a pair of double play balls, tying him with Shuckers’ hurler Nick Bennett for the Southern League lead with seven double plays. Overall, Herb allowed just four hits and walked two batters while striking out three and forcing 12 ground outs.

Joey Wiemer added to the Shuckers’ scoring in the fifth. Gabe Holt doubled over third base to start the inning and two batters later Wiemer unloaded on a 1-0 pitch from RHP Sean Burke (L, 0-1), depositing it onto Caillavet Street behind the left-field wall for his seventh homer of the season.

PULL OUT THE TAPE MEASURES! 📏

Joey Wiemer has No. 7.#ShuckYeah pic.twitter.com/QL39KBD9sb

— Biloxi Shuckers (@BiloxiShuckers) May 15, 2022

A Cam Devanney sacrifice fly added another run to the Shuckers lead in the sixth to make it 6-0. Birmingham did score two runs in the top of the seventh, but the Shuckers’ offense counterpunched with a four-run frame. Sal Frelick singled to begin the inning and two batters later Valerio curled a two-run homer inside the left-field foul pole, his fifth of the season and second in three days, making it 8-2. Dillard followed Valerio and worked an eight-pitch at bat before launching a 422-foot home run to the left of the batters’ eye in center, his third homer of the season, to extend the lead to 9-2. On the next pitch, Jakson Reetz lined a homer over the left-field wall, his sixth of the year, to make it a 10-2 advantage.

Back-to-back-to-back jacks!@Brewers prospects Felix Valerio, Thomas Dillard and Jackson Reetz each homer for the @BiloxiShuckers! pic.twitter.com/OzpmOU4uKa

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 15, 2022

It was just the second time the Shuckers have hit three consecutive home runs, with the other occasion coming on August 27, 2017 at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville when Angel Ortega, Javier Betancourt, Jacob Nottingham all homered in the seventh inning. It is also the first time the Shuckers have hit back-to-back home runs in a game since August 16, 2019 against the Mobile BayBears.

The Shuckers would send eight men to the plate in the eighth and scored three more runs on an RBI single from Reetz and a two-RBI double from Lutz. Lutz finished the night 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, four RBI, a run scored and a walk.

With a chance to win the series, the Shuckers conclude their six-game set against the Barons on Sunday afternoon. RHP Noah Zavolas will make his season debut while Birmingham will counter with RHP Kaleb Roper (0-2, 7.48) for a 1:05 pm first pitch. The game can be seen on MiLB.TV and heard locally on WGCM AM 1240/FM 100.9 or online here. Individual tickets, Shuck Nation Memberships, Flex Plans and group outings are available for the 2022 season 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.comand follow us on Twitter @biloxishuckers and at facebook.com/biloxishuckers.