Braves avoid sweep with 4-0 shutout

DANVILLE, Va,-Austin Bush homered and two Danville Braves' hurlers combined for nine scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the Princeton Rays on Tuesday. The win keeps the Braves' slim postseason hopes alive, although that could be ended this evening.

The Braves scored the first run of the game in the 2nd inning on a throwing error by Princeton second baseman Kevin Santiago. In the 5th, Jeffrey Ramos singled and Kevin Maitan trotted home to extend Danville's lead to 2-0.
In the 7th inning, Bush swung at the first pitch he saw and deposited the baseball over the right field fence, 406 feet from the plate for a 3-0 lead. The Braves final run came in the 8th on a sharply hit ground ball single by Drew Waters.
The story of the day was the Danville (29-30) pitching. Jaret Hellinger found himself in trouble in the first inning, loading the bases with just one out. But he escaped that jam with a shallow fly out and a strikeout. He would depart after four shutout innings, giving way to Dilmer Mejia. Mejia picked up right where Hellinger left off, delivering five scoreless frames of his own, while en route to tying the Braves' season high of seven strikeouts (also set by Mejia earlier this year).
What's Next:
The Braves head to Pulaski and then to Bluefield on a six game road trip. A single Pulaski win in their final 10 games eliminates Danville from postseason contention. The Braves return home next Tuesday for a three game stretch against Pulaski, which will close out the regular season.