What A Night! Shuckers Win Season Opener In Wild 11-Inning Affair

On an Opening Night that featured five ties and six lead changes, the Biloxi Shuckers (1-0) needed 11 innings to top the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (0-1) 13-11 on Friday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

With the game tied at 11-11 in the 11th inning, Felix Valerio gave the Shuckers the lead for good when he hit a two-run homer off RHP Anthony Maldonado (L, 0-1), moving Biloxi ahead 13-11. RHP Arnaldo Hernandez (W, 1-0) struck out the first batter he faced in the home half of the inning but walked a pair to load the bases with only one out. The righty responded by striking out Luis Aviles Jr. and induced a flyout to left field from Victor Victor Mesa to secure the win for Biloxi.

Pensacola took a 4-0 lead in the second inning on a pair of home runs, a double, a single and an error. Biloxi pulled a run back in the top of the fourth on an RBI triple by Garrett Mitchell.

The Shuckers stormed back to tie the contest in the top of the fifth. The first three batters reached on two hit-by-pitches and a single, loading the bases for Mitchell, who worked a walk to force in a run and pull the Shuckers within a pair. In the ensuing at bat, Joey Wiemer tied the contest at 4-4 with a two-RBI single to right, his first Double-A hit.

After the Wahoos took the lead again in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly, Tristen Lutz homered in the top of the sixth inning to knot the game again at 5-5, his first home run of the season.

Biloxi took their first lead in the top of the seventh inning. Holt, Mitchell and Wiemer drew three consecutive walks to load the bases with no outs. Ashton McGee hit into a fielder’s choice, but Freddy Zamora broke the tie with a bases-clearing double, propelling the Shuckers to an 8-5 advantage. Zamora advanced to third on a flyout and raced in to score on a wild pitch, extending Biloxi’s lead to 9-5.

The Blue Wahoos tied the game in the home half of the eighth on an RBI double by Aviles and a three-run homer by Hayden Cantrelle, his first of the season. The teams would trade single runs in the ninth and tenth, with Lutz briefly giving the Shuckers’ the lead with a sacrifice fly in the ninth and Mitchell putting the Shuckers in front with an RBI single in the tenth.

The Shuckers return to action on Saturday night at 6:05 pm. LHP Andy Otero (NR) is slated to start for Biloxi opposite RHP Zach McCambley (NR) for the Wahoos. The game can be heard locally on WGCM AM 1240/FM 100.9 or online here. Biloxi then returns to MGM Park for their home opener against the Mississippi Braves on Tuesday, April 12 at 6:35 pm. 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.