Mississippi Downs Pensacola

May 21, 2015

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Mississippi Braves played five games that all went down to the wire at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.

If you didn’t care who won, it was entertaining baseball. Die hard Blue Wahoos fans, though, left disappointed.

This time the Braves scored four runs on four hits in the top of the ninth inning to go ahead and win, 5-2, in front of 3,207 fans Wednesday. Mississippi took the series, 3-2.

The first three games between the two teams were all decided by one run.

“We’ve played some really good ball games,” said Pensacola Manager Pat Kelly of his team that fell to 17-23 and remain in fourth place in the Southern League South Division. “We had a chance to win all five. Mississippi is a good ball club and we stayed even with them.”

Pensacola center fielder Beau Amaral lined what looked like the game-winning, solo home run just over the right field wall in the seventh inning that put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 2-1. Amaral went 3-5 on the night with a stolen base, his fourth of the season.

However, Mississippi chased Pensacola reliever Zack Weiss in the ninth when first baseman Corban Joseph singled to drive in two runs to put the Braves up, 3-2. Then center fielder Mallex Smith singled to drive in two more with two out, making the final score, 5-2.

Mississippi scored first in the second inning with two out when starting Pensacola pitcher Wandy Peralta walked two and then gave up a single to second baseman Eric Garcia that drove in third baseman Rio Ruiz to go ahead, 1-0.

Blue Wahoos catcher Yovan Gonzalez scored in the third inning to tie the game, 1-1, on second baseman Ryan Wright’s single to center.

Peralta threw six innings of two-hit ball and gave up just one run but he walked six batters.

“When he continues to control his emotions he can stay in the ball game,” Kelly said. “Earlier this season, if he threw nine straight balls, he never would have finished that inning.”

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