Swanson Scores Game Winner in Tennessee

Kodak, TN - Dansby Swanson went 4-for-5 and scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning on a wild pitch, as the Mississippi Braves beat the Tennessee Smokies 8-7 on Wednesday night in the series opener.

Swanson doubled with one out in the ninth and the game tied 7-7. Dustin Peterson had an infield hit and moved to second on a groundout. With two out, reliever Starling Peralta (0-1) threw a wild pitch, bringing home Swanson from third to give the Braves (11-15) the win.

The wild pitch ended a back-and-forth affair in which Mississippi jumped out to a big early lead, with six in the first three innings.

In the first, Matt Lipka walked, Swanson singled and Peterson walked to load the bases. With one out, Carlos Franco grounded into a force at second, barely beating out a double play to drive in a run and keep the inning alive. Willians Astudillo followed with an RBI single and Sean Godfrey hit a two-run triple to make it 4-0.

Tennessee (13-13) came back in the second with a pair of runs. Braves starter Andrew Thurman walked Billy McKinney and Victor Caratini to start the inning. Left fielder Mark Zagunis singled home the first Smokies run, and Carlos Penalver hit a one-out double to make it 4-2.

The Braves started the third with back-to-back home runs from Franco and Willians Astudillo, the first back-to-back jacks for the Braves since July 10, 2010 against Birmingham, when Eric Duncan and Willie Cabrera accomplished the feat. The solo shots made it 6-2 in favor of Mississippi.

That's when Tennessee came alive. With two outs in the fourth, Penalver singled and pitcher Rob Zastryzny doubled to plate him and pull it to 6-3. Jacob Hanneman followed suit with a double and an RBI to make it 6-4.

In the fifth, the Smokies took their only lead of the game. McKinney singled with one out, and Zagunis singled to put two on for Kelly Dugan, whose three-run home run made it 7-6 Tennessee.

The Braves bounced right back in the sixth. Dian Toscano knocked a two-out pinch-hit single, and Lipka followed with a knock. Swanson tied the game with an RBI single, his third hit of the game, to make it 7-7.

The game stayed tied until the ninth, when Swanson doubled and scored for the game-winner.

Mauricio Cabrera (1-3) picked up the win in relief, throwing a scoreless inning with two walks. He got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, getting Jeimer Candelario to fly out to left to strand three.

Peralta took the loss, allowing a run on two hits over an inning, walking one in relief.

Braves starter Andrew Thurman allowed four runs on six hits over four innings, walking four in the no-decision. Zastryzny also took a no-decision, allowing six runs on eight hits over five frames.

Madison Younginer fired a scoreless ninth inning to nail down his first save of the year for Mississippi.

The Braves and Smokes continue the series with the second of five games on Thursday night in Kodak, with right-hander Chris Ellis (3-0, 1.84) set to take on Smokies right-hander Duane Underwood (0-0, 2.25). First pitch is set for 6:05 PM CT.

Mississippi Braves (11-15)                           8 R          14 H       3 E
Tennessee Smokies (13-13)                         7 R          10 H       0 E

W - Cabrera (1-3)
L - Peralta (0-1)
S - Younginer (1)
Time: 2:54 (:33 delay)
Attendance: 2,137