Brandon Parker homers twice in Sunday's 13-5 loss to Biscuits

PEARL, MS (June 2, 2024) — Mississippi native Brandon Parker blasted a pair of home runs on Sunday afternoon, but the Montgomery Biscuits scored six runs in the seventh inning and ran away with a 13-5 win over the Mississippi Braves at Trustmark Park. Parker hit a solo home run in the second inning and a three-run shot in the sixth to mark his second career two-homer game and first since 2022.

Sunday's game began effiencently for M-Braves (23-28) spot starter Jake McSteen. The left-hander needed just 11 pitches to retire the side in the first and had a quiet second and third inning, ceding just one hit the first time through the order. Parker gave McSteen and the Braves a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning by belting a 361-foot homer over the left-field wall.

Montgomery's (30-21) offense came alive in the fourth inning. Tampa Bay's No. 2 overall prospect, Carson Williams, started the frame with a double, and Heriberto Hernandez followed with a single. Dominic Keegan hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Williams to tie the game. After a Kenny Piper walk, McSteen exited the game for Trey Riley. The right-hander struck out Tanner Murray for the second out, but Nick Schnell smacked his second homer run in two days, a three-run shot to left putting Montgomery up 4-1.

The M-Braves answered. In the bottom of the frame, Cody Milligan hit a one-out single, and with two outs, Cal Conley brought him home to time the deficit to 4-2. Conley finished 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and extended his on-base streak to 12 games. In the sixth, Parker returned to the plate with two on base and launched a 368-foot homer onto the White Claw Picnic Pavilion in left to put the M-Braves back on top, 5-4. Tyler Tolve hit the first of his two doubles, and Conley walked to get on base in front of Parker.

The two-homer game was the first for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product since hitting two on July 27, 2022, while playing for Low-A Augusta. Parker now has three home runs and 10 RBI on the season.

Unfortunately for Mississippi, it was all Montgomery after the sixth. The Biscuits sent nine batters to the plate in the top of the seventh inning and scored six runs to take a 10-5 lead. Hayden Harris allowed three runs, and Rolddy Munoz gave up three runs in an inning with six singles, one walk, and an error. The Biscuits tacked on two more runs in the eighth inning on a Jalen Battles double and Williams sacrifice fly. Then the Biscuits got another in the ninth on a Tanner Murray RBI double.

Montgomery's 13 runs and 17 hits on Sunday were the most given up by the M-Braves this season. The Southern League's top offense went 10-for-17 with runners in scoring position and had five players with multiple hits. Chandler Simpson had three hits, and Keegan collected four for Montgomery.

Landon Harper made his Trustmark Park debut, and the Meridian, MS reliever struck out three over 1.2 innings. Harper is a product of Pearl River Community College and Southern Miss.

Parker's multi-homer game was the first by a Mississippi batter this season and the first since Drew Lugbauer slugged a pair of long balls on August 3, 2023, against the Biscuits. Tolve smacked two doubles, running his season total to 11, leading the club. With the win, the Biscuits won five of six in the series and lead the season series 8-4.

The M-Braves will enjoy a day off on Monday and head to Pensacola to start a six-game set with the Wahoos on Tuesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The first pitch is set for 6:05 pm with RHP/INF David Fletcher (0-0, --) set to make his sixth career pitching appearance and first M-Braves start, opposite LHP Luis Palacios (2-3, 4.97). Coverage begins 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.