Betancourt leads Shuckers to fourth straight win in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, FL - The Biloxi Shuckers won their fourth straight game Thursday night, defeating the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 5-3 to remain atop the Southern League's South Division. Javier Betancourt homered and went 3-for-4 to lead a 12-hit outburst in Jacksonville.
The win improves the Shuckers to 18-16 on the season and gives them a half-game lead in the division pending the results of Pensacola and Mississippi's games this evening. The Shuckers, Blue Wahoos, and Braves entered play today in a three-way tie for first place.

Luis Ortiz (W, 2-3) started for the Shuckers, working 5.2 innings and allowing just one run on three hits. The righty struck out just one, but did not allow any hits until the fourth inning.
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Ortiz traded zeroes with Shrimp starter Chris Mazza (L, 0-2) through four innings until the Shuckers got on the board in the top of the fifth. Javier Betancourt launched his second home run of the season around the left field foul pole to put the Shuckers up 1-0.
The Shuckers would add another run in the sixth, when Mauricio Dubón singled, advanced to second on a groundout, alertly stole third on a throw back to the pitcher, and came home on a passed ball. The stolen base, Dubon's 17th, extended his lead on the Southern League and Double-A leaderboards.
Ortiz finally allowed a run in the bottom of the sixth, but Nick Ramirez entered to finish the inning and keep the lead intact at 2-1. In the bottom of the eighth inning, reliever Bubba Derby benefitted from a heads-up play by his catcher Jacob Nottingham to turn a popped-up bunt into a double play and thwart a threat.
In the top of the ninth, the Shuckers broke the game open with a Clint Coulter home run, Art Charles double, and RBI singles from Dubon and Angel Ortega to stretch the lead to 5-1. After Josh Uhen  struggled in the ninth, Matt Ramsey (S, 10) finished the game off with the tying run on second to notch his league-leading 10th save.
Dubon, Ortega and DeMuth collected two hits each and DeMuth extended his on-base streak to 19 games. The Shuckers have collected double-digit hits in each game of the series and 47 all-together.
Biloxi has won 11 of their last 14 games since April 28.

The Shuckers will try for their first series sweep of the season on Friday as they send Aaron Wilkerson to the mound against Omar Bencomo. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 pm, with the Beau Rivage Pregame Show starting at 5:45 pm on Cruisin' WGCM AM-1240/FM-100.9 and the Shuckers Radio Network. The game will also be available at biloxishuckers.com and TuneIn Radio.
Because of Biloxi's win on Thursday, fans can use the promo code SHUCKERS at papajohns.com and receive 50% off their regular price order on Friday. Valid at all participating Papa John's locations.
Fans are encouraged to purchase Shuckers tickets in advance at any Ticketmaster outlet or at biloxishuckers.com.
ABOUT THE BILOXI SHUCKERS:
The Biloxi Shuckers are the Double-A Southern League Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Shuckers play at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. For more information please visit biloxishuckers.com and follow us on Twitter @biloxishuckers and at facebook.com/biloxishuckers.com.