Shuckers Put Away Trash Pandas Early, Small Dominates in 13-1 Win

After scoring nine runs the night before, the Biloxi Shuckers (15-25) brought the bats to the yard again on Friday night, notching 15 hits as part of a 13-1 drubbing of the Rocket City Trash Pandas (20-19) at Toyota Field. LHP Ethan Small (W, 2-2) kept the Trash Pandas in check, tossing a career-high seven scoreless innings in the victory.

Biloxi opened the scoring in the first for a second straight night. Tyler Friis singled with one out and stole second before scoring on an RBI double by Brice Turang, putting Biloxi up 1-0. Two batters later, Luis Castro knocked an opposite-field double, driving in Turang to give the Shuckers a 2-0 advantage.

The scoring continued in the second thanks to heads up base running by the Shuckers. After David Fry was hit by a pitch and Ryan Aguilar walked, Tristen Lutz hit a bullet single up the middle to load the bases against RHP Aaron Hernandez (L, 1-1). Friis drove in a run on an RBI fielder’s choice, and then executed a double steal with Aguilar, with Friis stealing second and Aguilar successfully stealing home on the throw to second.

An eight-run third put the game out of reach. Lucas Erceg drove in the first run with an RBI single to center, scoring Payton Henry. A fielding error with the bases loaded allowed two more runs to score, and Friis plated two more for the Shuckers with a single up the middle, giving him three RBI in his first three times up. Turang followed with an RBI single, his second hit of the night, and after Henry drew a walk in his second plate appearance of the frame, Luis Castro singled to right field, driving in Friis and Turang to cap the scoring. All told, the Shuckers sent 13 men to the plate and scored eight runs on six hits, all of them singles, two walks and an error.

On the mound, Small retired the side in order in the first before running into his only jam of the night in the second. Izzy Wilson doubled to left field and with two outs Ray-Patrick Didder lofted a ball to shallow center. With Wilson on the move on contact, Aguilar raced in from center field to make a diving catch for the third out, preserving the early shut out.

Small responded by retiring the 13 of the next 14 batters he faced including eight in a row. The lefty struck out the side twice on the night, and finished with nine strikeouts, giving him a Double-A South leading 67 punchouts in 41.1 innings of work. For the month of June, Small has now allowed one run in four starts, spotting a 0.37 ERA for the month while striking out 40 batters in 24.1 innings.

Castro capped the scoring for Biloxi with a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning, his fifth of the season, putting the Shuckers up 13-0. Castro finished the night 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, 4 RBI and a run scored. It was his third three-hit night in four games against the Trash Pandas.

Looking to take a lead in the series, the Shuckers continue their matchup with the Trash Pandas on Saturday night at 6:35 pm. RHP Noah Zavolas (2-3, 6.97) gets the start for Biloxi against Trash Pandas’ LHP Reid Detmers (1-2, 3.41) at Toyota Field. The game can be heard locally on Cruisin’ WGCM AM 1240/FM 100.9

Individual tickets are on sale now for all 2021 Shuckers home games and promotions for June can be found here. Full Shuck Nation Memberships and Half Shell Shuck Nation Memberships, flex plans and group outings are available by calling 228-233-3465 and selecting Option 3.

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 and are members of the Double-A South. For more information, please visit biloxishuckers.comand follow us on Twitter @biloxishuckers and at facebook.com/biloxishuckers.