Biloxi Falls in A Back-and-Forth Battle Against Pensacola

BILOXI, MS – For the third straight night, the Biloxi Shuckers (24-24) and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (30-18) went back and forth at MGM Park, with Pensacola taking game three of the series, 8-6, after scoring eight runs over the final four innings. The two teams combined to score 11 runs in the last four innings after Biloxi took an early 3-0 lead. The loss was the second straight for the Shuckers, with both coming by two runs or less.

Biloxi’s early lead came off two home runs in the second inning. The first, from Tristen Lutz, cleared the wall in right for a solo shot that gave Biloxi a 1-0 lead. After Carlos Rodriguez singled to center, Ethan Murray clobbered a 405-foot home run that extended the lead to 3-0.

On the mound, Christian Mejias was electric through the first five innings. The righty allowed one hit and one walk with five strikeouts over the first five innings. In the sixth, a single and a walk set the table for a three-run home run from Dane Myers that tied the game at three. Biloxi retook the lead in the bottom of the inning after Rodriguez scored on a double play with the bases loaded.

Up 4-3, the Shuckers surrendered the lead when Norel González lined a solo home run to right. However, the tie didn’t last long as Lutz rolled a broken-bat grounder to short that drove in Tyler Black for a 5-4 lead. Black had reached on a single earlier in the inning that extended his on-base streak to 26 games, the second-longest in Shuckers’ history. Black is one game away from tying Cooper Hummel’s franchise record of 27, set in 2019.

In the eighth, an RBI double from José Devers and a two-RBI single from Will Banfield gave the Blue Wahoos their first lead of the night at 7-5. On the first pitch in the bottom of the inning, Felix Valerio launched his first homer of the year, cutting the deficit to 7-6. Jeferson Quero hammered a flyball to left with two outs and a man on in the inning, but the ball fell a foot short of the wall to keep the Shuckers down one.

Pensacola drove in their final run of the night with an RBI single from Troy Johnston, and Zack Leban struck out the side in the bottom of the inning to earn his first of the year in Double-A.

Christian Charle (2-1) earned the win for Pensacola while Zach Vennaro (1-2) took the loss for Biloxi. The Shuckers tallied 16 hits, tying their season-high. Every starter collected a hit, and Jeferson Quero, Zavier Warren, Carlos Rodriguez, Ethan Murray and Felix Valerio all tallied multi-hit nights.

The Shuckers and Blue Wahoos will face each other on Friday night at 6:35 p.m. at MGM Park. The Shuckers will host the Saints Hall of Fame Weekend at MGM Park during the game while wearing their special Shuckers Saints jerseys. New Orleans Saints legends will also be in attendance. The jerseys are currently available for auction on the Shuckers’ website. The skies will also light up over MGM Park for a Fireworks Friday with the best show on the Coast.

Individual tickets, group outings, Shuck Nation memberships and Flex Plans for the 2023 Biloxi Shuckers season are available now 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.com and follow us on Twitter @biloxishuckers and at facebook.com/biloxishuckers.

ABOUT SHUCKERS BASEBALL, LLC:

Shuckers Baseball, LLC is a MS entity owned and operated by John Tracy. Shuckers Baseball operates the Biloxi Shuckers baseball franchise, including operating MGM Park for Biloxi Shuckers minor league baseball games and other entertainment and recreational events.