Baldwin drives in six as M-Braves get ninth-straight road win on Wednesday in Pensacola

PENSACOLA, FL (June 5, 2024) — The Mississippi Braves won their ninth-straight road game on Wednesday night in Pensacola, scoring a season-high 14 runs on a season-best 16 hits in the 14-6 victory over the Blue Wahoos. Drake Baldwin set a new career high with six RBI to lead the offense, finishing 2-for-6 with a home run.

The Mississippi (25-28) bats produced a season-most 11 extra-base hits, including seven doubles, two triples, and two homers. The nine-game road winning streak is the longest in club history.

The first at-bat set the tone for the next nine innings when Justin Dean smacked a triple down the left-field line. Baldwin picked up the first of his six RBI with a ground out to score Dean. Cal Conley walked and moved to third base on a throwing error, eventually scoring on a Yolbert Sanchez sacrifice fly.

The Blue Wahoos (27-25) bounced back against Mississippi starter Ian Mejia and ended the right-hander's club-record scoreless streak at 30.1 innings. Joe Mack hit a two-out solo home run in the first inning, and Sean Roby hit an RBI double in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game at 2-2.

The rest of the game belonged to the M-Braves, and it started with back-to-back four-run innings in the third and fourth. Brandon Parker had the first of three hits with a single to start the third inning and moved to third base on a one-out double by Conley. Baldwin plated both runs with a single and then Sanchez and Tyler Tolve hit back-to-back doubles to put Mississippi up 6-2. In the fourth, Bryson Horne led off the inning with a solo home run, his second of the season. The next batter, Parker, doubled and scored on another Conley double. Baldwin made it 10-2 with a two-run opposite field home run into Pensacola Bay.

Mejia fell one out shy of qualifying for the win with 4.2 innings, two runs allowed on six hits, three walks, and four strikeouts. The reigning Southern League Pitcher of the Month has a 1.66 ERA through his first ten Mississippi starts.

The Wahoos trimmed the lead to 10-6 during a controversial seventh inning. Jake Thompson hit a three-run home run that became a two-run triple when the umpires ruled that a fan in right field interfered with the play. Nathan Marteralla added an RBI single and Bennett Hostetler a sacrifice fly to cap the four-run inning.

The M-Braves pushed the lead to 13-6 in the eighth inning. Conley notched his third double of the game to open the frame and scored on a Sanchez single. Geraldo Quintero was the only Braves player not to have a hit or run through seven innings, and he changed that with a two-run triple. Baldwin tallied his sixth RBI on a groundout in the ninth to finish the scoring.

Conley set a season-high with three doubles and reached base safely five times, finishing 3-for-4 with two walks and four runs scored. Parker was 3-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored, and over his last two games is 5-for-8 with two homers, a double, five RBI, and five runs scored.

M-Braves reliever Trey Riley (W, 1-3) was credited with the win by pitching a scoreless seventh inning.

The M-Braves will go for their 10th straight road win on Thursday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium in game three of the six-game set. LHP Drew Parrish (4-4, 4.24) starts for Mississippi against RHP Evan Fitterer (4-3, 3.83) for Pensacola. First pitch is at 6:05 pm with coverage beginning at 5:50 pm on 102.1 The Box, Bally Live, and MiLB.tv.

The M-Braves will return to Trustmark Park for a six-game homestand against the Rocket City Trash Pandas, June 11-16. The homestand features a Welcome to Summer Weekend with a Mississippi Braves Beach Towel Giveaway on Friday, June 14, and an Island-Themed Post-Game Fireworks on Saturday, June 15. For tickets and more information, visit mississippibraves.com.