Shuckers come back to beat M-Braves on Sunday afternoon, 4-3
PEARL, MS — The Biloxi Shuckers rallied from down 3-0 to beat the Mississippi Braves on Sunday afternoon at Trustmark Park, 4-3. Nacho Alvarez Jr., Atlanta's top position player prospect, recorded his first three-hit game at the Double-A level, finishing 3-for-5 with two stolen bases and a run scored. JJ
PEARL, MS — The Biloxi Shuckers rallied from down 3-0 to beat the Mississippi Braves on Sunday afternoon at Trustmark Park, 4-3. Nacho Alvarez Jr., Atlanta's top position player prospect, recorded his first three-hit game at the Double-A level, finishing 3-for-5 with two stolen bases and a run scored.
JJ Niekro made his second start of the homestand and picked up where he left off on Tuesday. The 26-year-old from Plant City, FL, kept Biloxi off the scoreboard through four innings, stretching his scoreless streak to begin 2024 to 10 innings. Niekro exited in the top of the fifth inning with two outs after giving up a single and a double. Jake McSteen took over and surrendered a two-run single to allow the runs to score. Niekro ended his afternoon with 4.2 innings pitched, four hits and two earned runs allowed, one walk and three strikeouts. Over his first two starts, he has a 1.69 ERA, ceding two runs over 10.2 innings.
The offense started early on Sunday, with Alvarez starting his three-hit afternoon with a one-out single. After a Drake Baldwin walk, Alvarez stole third base, then scored on a Keshawn Ogans double.
The M-Braves (3-6) upped the lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning. Cal Conley smacked a 379-foot home run into the Farm Bureau Grill down the right field line to open the inning, Mississippi's first home run of 2024. The M-Braves were one of only three teams (Rome/Hickory) in minor league baseball without a home run this season heading into Sunday. After a Cade Bunnell walk, Cody Milligan drilled a triple down the right-field line to score Bunnell to make it 3-0. Milligan reached base twice, logging his seventh stolen base as well.
The Shuckers (5-4) began chipping away with two runs in the fifth inning, then tied the game in the sixth inning on a double by Ethan Murray. In the seventh, the Shuckers scored their fourth unanswered run on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Rodriguez to go ahead 4-3.
The Biloxi bullpen continued their dominance by throwing 5.0 shutout innings to close out the third-straight victory, with reliever Sam Carlos (W, 1-0) earning the win.
Ogans joined Alvarez with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with a double and RBI, and Cody Milligan was 1-for-4 with a triple, RBI, and walk.
The M-Braves hit the road for two weeks and will return to Trustmark Park on April 30. The first leg of the road trip begins on Tuesday with game one of the six-game series at Regions Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 pm with LHP Drew Parrish (1-1, 5.40) starting for Mississippi against Birmingham RHP Mason Adams (0-1, 9.00). Coverage will begin at 6:45 pm on 102.1 The Box, Bally Live, and MiLB.tv.