Francis Cruises Behind Plenty of Support in 7-2 Shuckers Win
Behind a third consecutive stellar outing from RHP Bowden Francis (W, 3-0), the Biloxi Shuckers (6-9) topped the Tennessee Smokies (6-9) 7-2 on Thursday night at Smokies Stadium. The win snapped a five-game losing streak on the road for Biloxi. For a second consecutive night, Biloxi scored in the firsPt
Behind a third consecutive stellar outing from RHP Bowden Francis (W, 3-0), the Biloxi Shuckers (6-9) topped the Tennessee Smokies (6-9) 7-2 on Thursday night at Smokies Stadium. The win snapped a five-game losing streak on the road for Biloxi.
For a second consecutive night, Biloxi scored in the firsPt inning. Mitch Longo led of the frame with a walk and stole second before Brice Turang sacrificed him over on a bunt, putting Longo at third with only one out. Jamie Westbrook smacked a single to right, driving in Longo to put the Shuckers up 1-0. The hit extended Westbrook’s hitting streak to eight games, the longest for any Shuckers’ hitter this season.
Tennessee was able to tie the game in the bottom of the first on only one hit and an error, but the Shuckers’ offense picked up their starter in the top of the second. Biloxi sent 10 men to the plate against Smokies’ RHP Javier Assad (L, 0-2), scoring runs on a fielding error, an RBI single by Turang, a wild pitch and a bases-loaded walk to David Fry. When the dust settled, the Shuckers had a 5-1 lead going to the home half of the second.
Francis tossed a stress-free second and worked around a couple of singles in the third. The only drama of his start came in the bottom of the fourth, when Tennessee loaded the bases on a single and a pair of walks. The righty locked in after the two free passes, striking out Connor Myers for the second out and inducing a groundout to the mound from Darius Hill to leave the bags full. The Tallahassee, FL native finished off his five innings of work with a strikeout looking of Andy Weber, the fifth strikeout of the night for Francis.
Biloxi added another run of support for their starter in the top of the fourth inning. Turang led off the fourth with a single and stole second base, his sixth consecutive night with a stolen base. Westbrook moved Turang to third on a fly out and Chad Spanberger drove him in with an RBI double, putting Biloxi up 6-1.
RHP J.T. Hintzen worked two scoreless innings for the Shuckers, walking just one and striking out two. LHP Andy Otero made his debut for the Shuckers with a perfect eighth, and RHP Lucas Erceg finished the game for Biloxi, allowing one run on two hits while striking out one.
Game four of the Shuckers six-game series against the Smokies starts at 6:00 pm CST on Friday night. In his first appearance since throwing five no-hit innings, LHP Ethan Small (1-1, 4.50) takes the hill for the Shuckers against LHP Luis Lugo (0-2, 8.59) for the Smokies. The game can be heard locally on Cruisin’ WGCM AM 1240/FM 100.9, online here or on the MiLB App.
Individual tickets are on sale now for all 2021 Shuckers home games and promotions for May can be found here. Full Shuck Nation Membershipsand Half Shell Shuck Nation Memberships, flex plans and group outings are available by calling 228-233-3465 and selecting Option 3.
ABOUT THE BILOXI SHUCKERS:
The Biloxi Shuckers are the Double-A Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Shuckers play at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi and are members of the Double-A South. For more information, please visit biloxishuckers.comand follow us on Twitter @biloxishuckers and at facebook.com/biloxishuckers.