Five-Run Sixth Powers Shuckers to 8-2 Win over M-Braves
PEARL, MS – Thanks to a five-run sixth inning that saw 10 batters come to the plate, the Biloxi Shuckers (28-26) defeated the Mississippi Braves (25-28), 8-2, on Thursday night at Trustmark Park. Shuckers’ manager Mike Guerrero earned his 1,399th career win with the victory. Pensacola’s win over Montgomery keeps
PEARL, MS – Thanks to a five-run sixth inning that saw 10 batters come to the plate, the Biloxi Shuckers (28-26) defeated the Mississippi Braves (25-28), 8-2, on Thursday night at Trustmark Park. Shuckers’ manager Mike Guerrero earned his 1,399th career win with the victory. Pensacola’s win over Montgomery keeps the Shuckers five games back of the division lead with 15 games remaining in the first half.
The M-Braves struck first in the second after Shuckers’ starter Carlos Rodriguez issued four walks over the first two innings. After two walks in the second, Andrew Moritz singled to left-center that brought in Cade Bunnell for the early lead. The deficit didn’t last long for Biloxi. In the fourth they tied the game on an RBI single from Zavier Warren. The single drove in Jackson Chourio, who had singled and stole second earlier in the inning.
From there, Rodriguez dominated on the mound. After the Shuckers’ tallied their 14th outfield assist on the year to nab Drew Lugbauer attempting to score from first on a double, Rodriguez retired six of the final seven batters he faced and struck out five. His nine strikeouts marked his fourth start of the year that he’s struck out at least nine, and brought his total to 73 on the year, the second-most in the Southern League.
In the sixth, the Shuckers broke the game open with five runs off three hits. After the first two runners were retired, Wes Clarke singled and Zavier Warren and Ethan Murray both drew a walk to load the bases. Freddy Zamora cashed in with a two-run single that gave Biloxi a 3-1 lead. After Carlos Rodriguez drew a walk that loaded the bases, Nick Kahle drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-1. One batter later, Isaac Collins drove in a two with a double to left that made it 6-1. Lugbaurer launched his 12th home run of the year in the bottom of the inning to make it 6-2.
The Shuckers, however, weren’t done yet. They scored another two-out run in the seventh when Tyler Black scampered home on a groundball to second and swam around Javier Valdes’ tag to make it 7-2. Biloxi brought home their final run of the night in the eighth inning after Jackson Chourio drove in Isaac Collins with a single to center. The single brought in Choruio’s team-leading 34th RBI of the year.
In the ninth, Kaleb Bowman struck out the first two batters before inducing a flyout to left that finished off an 8-2 Shuckers victory.
Rodriguez (3-2) earned the win for Biloxi while M-Braves’ starter Scott Blewett (2-3) took the loss. The two teams will meet on Friday night at Trustmark Park for the fourth game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
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. The Shuckers return to MGM Park for a 12-game homestand starting on Tuesday, June 20 against the Chattanooga Lookouts.
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.