Betts, Biscuits Walk Off Wahoos, 6-5

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Down 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth, catcher Chris Betts hit an opposite-field, three-run walk-off home run to lift the Biscuits (37-30) to a dramatic 6-5 win over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (37-34) on Saturday night at Riverwalk Stadium. The home run was the Biscuits’ sixth walk-off win of 2021, and their 10th victory in their last 11 games.

Peyton Battenfield made his sixth start of the season for the Biscuits and worked a clean, one-two-three top of the first, striking out one in lead-off hitter Peyton Burdick. Jeff Lindgren allowed a single to Jonathan Aranda and hit Ruben Cardenas with a pitch, but retired everyone else in a scoreless bottom of the first.

Battenfield would rack up a couple more strikeouts in the top of the second before Lindgren worked a one-two-three bottom of the second. Battenfield retired the first 11 batters of the game before serving up a two-out double to Nick Fortes in the fourth. The next batter was Griffin Conine, who hit a towering two-run home run to left to make it 2-0 Wahoos. Conine leads the minors with 24 round-trippers.

Niko Hulsizer drew a two-out walk against Lindgren in the bottom of the fourth, and then Cal Stevenson slugged an RBI-double off the wall in right to make it a 2-1 game. Battenfield then worked a one-two-three top of the fifth, striking out his seventh batter.

The Wahoos loaded the bases against Battenfield in the top of the sixth thanks to a single and a pair of walks. Calvin Faucher, who was just acquired by the Rays from the Minnesota Twins in the Nelson Cruz trade a few days ago, then came on and struck out two in his Biscuit debut, but also allowed a two-out two-run single to J.D. Osborne to make it 4-1 Pensacola.

The Biscuits would pull two runs back in the bottom of the seventh thanks to an RBI-single by Ford Proctor and interference called against Wahoos third baseman Connor Justus that made it 4-3, before Ivan Pelaez (6-5) allowed a solo home run to JJ Bleday that made it 5-3 Pensacola in the top of the eighth.

After Matt Pobereyko pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth, Adam McInvale (1-2) came on in the bottom of the ninth and walked the first two batters—Hulsizer and Stevenson. McInvale then fell behind Betts, 3-0, before pouring in a strike. The next pitch was clocked high in the air down the left field line and sailed over the fence for an unbelievable win on Christmas in July, handing the Biscuits the series victory.

The series wraps up with Lil' Crumbs Kids Club presented by Go Fish Alabama & Bark in the Park on Sunday at 3:33 PM CT.