Smokies Drop Road Trip Opener in Biloxi

BILOXI, MS - The Biloxi Shuckers (29-22) opened up the five game series with a 7-1 win over the Tennessee Smokies (25- 25) Tuesday night at MGM Park. Six of the seven Shuckers' runs scored with two outs.
After RHP Oscar De La Cruz (L, 2-2) recorded the first out of the first inning, Trent Grisham doubled. Jake Gatewood fol- lowed with a walk, and both runners scored on Dillon Thomas' two-out, two-run double.
Biloxi pushed across two more in the second. After De La Cruz got the first two batters to fly out to Ian Rice in left field, he walked the pitcher Alec Bettinger (W, 2-4) and Luis Aviles Jr. Grisham's two-run triple drove both runners in.
In the fifth, Patrick Leonard hit a two-out solo home run off De La Cruz to left center field to extend the Shuckers lead to 5-0. Aviles Jr's two-out RBI-single in the sixth extended the lead to six.
The Smokies used three straight two-out singles in the seventh off RHP Marcos Diplan to score their run. Gioskar Amaya extended the inning, moved to second on Jesse Hodges' base hit, and scored on Connor Myers' RBI-single. Gatewood reached on Vimael Machin's error at short stop to open the seventh and came around to score on Weston Wilson's sacrifice fly.
Bettinger allowed three hits and a walk over six scoreless innings with six strikeouts for his second win. De La Cruz suffered his second loss. He allowed five runs on five hits and three walks in five innings. He also struck out five.
The Smokies and Shuckers continue their five game series at MGM Park Wednesday night at 7:35 PM ET. RHP Tyson Miller (3-2, 2.13) will start on the road for the Smokies against RHP Johan Belisario (4-0, 2.80).