Big Inning Enough For Shuckers Fourth Straight Win

One big inning lifted the Biloxi Shuckers (4-1) to a 5-3 victory over the Montgomery Biscuits (1-4) on Monday night at Riverwalk Stadium. The Shuckers have now won four in a row as they head into the first off day of the season.
Trailing 1-0 going into the third inning, Biloxi put a pair of runners on base with a walk to Jake Hager and an opposite field single by Dustin Houle. Corey Ray drove in the first run of the game, doubling to straightaway centerfield, scoring Hager to tie the game 1-1. After a walk to Troy Stokes Jr., Lucas Erceg delivered the biggest hit of the game, an opposite-field double that cleared the bases, giving the Shuckers a 4-1 lead. Jake Gatewood capped off the scoring, driving in Erceg with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-1. Erceg finished the series 10-for-23 with 4 doubles, 4 RBI, 2 runs and a walk.
Starter Cody Ponce turned in a solid outing but came up an out shy of qualifying for the win, tossing 4.2 innings and allowing three runs on five hits. In the fifth inning, Ponce surrendered a one-out double, but got a strikeout of Andrew Velazquez. The right-hander looked like he was going to get out of the inning untouched, but uncorked a wild pitch on a strikeout of Jake Cronenworth, allowing Velazquez to advance to third and Cronenworth to take first. The next two batters singled, driving in two and chasing Ponce. Reliever Nick Ramirez (2-0) walked the first batter he faced, but induced a fly out to end the inning.
Montgomery put a runner on base in each of the final four innings, but the Biloxi staff was able to navigate each without allowing a run. Ramirez used a double play to cancel out a base runner in the sixth and worked around a two-out single in the seventh. In the ninth, Quintin Torres-Costa gave up a single with one out, but got a strikeout looking and a groundout to polish off his first save of the season.
Biloxi now has an off day before returning to MGM Park for Opening Day on Wednesday at 6:35 pm against the Mississippi Braves. The Shuckers are scheduled to send RHP Luis Ortiz (0-0, 3.60) to the mound against RHP Kyle Wright (0-0, 0.00). Fans will receive a magnet schedule as they enter the ballpark courtesy of WLOX. It's also the first All-You-Can-Eat-Wednesday. To wrap up the Opening Day festivities, there will a postgame fireworks show set to pop music.
Single game tickets for the Biloxi Shuckers 2018 season are on sale now and can be purchased at the MGM Park box office or over the phone through Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Season tickets, flex plans and group outings are also available and can be reserved by calling 228-233-3465 or visiting www.biloxishuckers.com.
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. For more information please visit biloxishuckers.com and follow us on Twitter @biloxishuckers and at facebook.com/biloxishuckers.com.