Wahoos Split Twin Bill With Mississippi

August 27, 2012

Pensacola scored four runs in the sixth inning to top Mississippi 5-2 and shortstop Billy Hamilton stole his 150th base of the year in game one, while Braves starting pitcher J.R. Graham shut down the Blue Wahoos bats in a 1-0 shutout victory in the nightcap as the two teams split their double header on Sunday evening at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi.

With the split, the Fish now own a 32-31 record in the second half and are two games out of first place in the Southern League’s South Division. The Braves have recorded a 29-34 mark since the midpoint of the season.

The Blue Wahoos struck first in the opening contest after loading the bases. CF Ryan LaMarre and C Tucker Barnhart each reached on a free pass, while 3B David Vidal was hit by a pitch, to bring up 2B Miguel Rojas. The second baseman would draw a free pass to send in LaMarre and push Pensacola ahead.

Mississippi however, would answer with a two-run bottom of the frame. Following walks from 1B Joe Terdoslavich and 3B Joe Leonard, RF Alden Carrithers singled to load the bases for CF Bobby Stevens. Stevens drove in both Terdoslavich and Leonard to give the Braves a 2-1 advantage.

Pensacola then put up a four-spot in the sixth to snag the lead for good. Pinch hitter Bryson Smith brought home a run with a sacrifice fly to right, while RF Josh Fellhauer and 1B Beau Mills each collected RBI base knocks to help the Blue Wahoos’ cause.

Blue Wahoos reliever Michael Griffin (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO) earned his first victory at the Double-A level after firing a perfect inning of relief, while closer Justin Freeman (2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 SO) notched his 16th save. Braves RHP Erik Cordier (0.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB) suffered the loss and the blown save.

Mississippi starter J.R. Graham (6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 SO) silenced Pensacola batters throughout much of the nightcap, yielding just three hits while fanning eight in his six scoreless innings of work. Graham retired 15 of his first 16 batters, including 14 straight at one point. Fish starter Chad Rogers (5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO) suffered the loss, while Braves RHP Cory Rasmus (1.0 IP, 1 BB, 2 SO) collected his fifth save of the year.

The second game’s lone tally came in the third and proved to be all that Mississippi needed. 2B Phil Gosselin singled and stole second , prior to subsequently scoring on 1B Joe Terdoslavich’s run-scoring base hit.

Gosselin (2-3, 1 R) and Terdoslavich (2-3, 1 RBI) each recorded multi-hit efforts in the second game, while Blue Wahoos RF Josh Fellhauer accrued two of the Fish’s three hits. RF Alden Carrithers (2-2, 1 BB) was the only hitter from either side with two hits in the first contest. Blue Wahoos SS Billy Hamilton stole his 150thh base of the year in the first game, extending his single-season steals record after breaking Vince Coleman’s top mark of 145 on August 21 against Montgomery.

The two teams are scheduled to play the fourth game of their series Monday evening at 7:00 p.m., with RHP Mark Serrano expected to take the hill for Pensacola. Mississippi is scheduled to counter by giving the nod to RHP Gary Moran.

The final Blue Wahoos homestand of the season begins on Thursday, August 30 at 7:00 p.m., with Pensacola hosting the Tennessee Smokies, the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.

By Andrew Green

Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports