Great Pitching Propels M-Braves to Doubleheader Sweep Over Lookouts

PEARL, MS – Two great starting pitching performances propelled the Mississippi Braves (13-18) to a doubleheader sweep of the Chattanooga Lookouts (14-17) on Saturday night at Trustmark Park.

The club needed just five combined hits to win both games. The M-Braves have won all four games in the series and have a chance to sweep the series tomorrow afternoon.

Game One

RHP AJ Smith-Shawver spun five shutout innings in his Trustmark Park debut to lead the M-Braves to a 2-0 win in game one.

Smith-Shawver made his second start for the M-Braves after rain cut short his first start in Pensacola. The right-hander gave up three doubles, stranding all of them on second base. Smith-Shawver allowed one walk and struck out seven in his first Double-A win.

Atlanta promoted Smith-Shawver to Double-A this past Thursday. The right-hander has yet to allow a run over five starts and 21 innings pitched this season. Smith-Shawver is currently ranked as Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect by Baseball America.

The M-Braves scored both runs in the first inning. Cal Conley doubled to the gap in left center on the first pitch of his at-bat. Conley later scored on a wild pitch. Drew Lugbauer slugged his first triple as an M-Brave to the wall in right field to score another run and make it 2-0.

RHP Alec Barger picked up his third save with a pair of strikeouts in the ninth inning.

Game Two

LHP Domingo Robles pitched a sensational six innings of one-run ball, and the M-Braves won 2-1 on a walk-off wild pitch in the eighth inning.

Robles struck out a career-high 11 batters, allowing one unearned run off four hits and two walks. The left-hander settled for a no-decision but whittled his ERA down to 1.33 over 24 innings this season. Robles has the most wins of any M-Braves starter with a 3-1 record.

After a Lookouts run in the second, the M-Braves answered immediately on an RBI base hit from Cade Bunnell to tie the game at 1-1. The hit scored Landon Stephens, who led off the inning with a single.

LHP Jake McSteen pitched two shutout innings in the seventh and the eighth. In the eighth, Hudson Potts threw out a baserunner at home plate to keep the game tied at 1-1.

In the eighth, Conley started on second base and immediately stole third. Conley is in the top five in the league with 13 stolen bases this season. A wild pitch to the screen behind the plate allowed Conley to score from third and walk off the game 2-1.

The series finale is on Sunday at Trustmark Park. RHP Alan Rangel (0-3, 5.25) for Mississippi while RHP Connor Phillips (0-1, 3.68) makes the start for Chattanooga. The first pitch is at 2:05 pm CT, with coverage starting 15 minutes before on 102.1 The Box, First Pitch App, and Bally Live.