Wahoos Pull Out 5-4 Win in 13 Innings
April 10, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos came from two runs down to overcome the Mississippi Braves, 5-4, Saturday in 13 innings at Trustmark Park in Pearl, MS.
Minor league veteran Ray Chang scored the winning run for Pensacola in the top of the 13th inning, showing rare speed for a 32-year-old as he scored from second base. Chang led off the inning with a line-drive single to centerfield and scored when Pin-Chieh Chen smacked a ball to left field that was mishandled by Mississippi’s Dustin Peterson.
The Blue Wahoos now lead the five-game series, 2-1.
It looked as if Pensacola would win the game in the 12th inning when Tony Renda, Baseball America’s No. 12 prospect in the Washington Nationals’ chain last season, lined a two-out double into right field. He drove in both centerfielder Beau Amaral and shortstop Zach Vincej to give Pensacola a 4-2 lead over the Braves.
But Mississippi came right back with two runs of its own in the bottom of the 12th off of Pensacola reliever Kyle McMyne. Braves center fielder Matt Lipka scored when Renda committed an error on first baseman Levi Hyam’s grounder to second.
Mississippi’s third baseman Emerson Landoni then singled to left field to score Peterson to tie the game again, 4-4.
But with the bases loaded and one out, Blue Wahoos reliever Kyle McMyne got a strike out and ground out to work out of the 12th inning. Mississippi stranded 31 runners on base during the Southern League game.
McMyne ended up getting the win, his first of the season, and Alejandro Chacin was credited with his first save for the Blue Wahoos.
The Blue Wahoos had tied the score, 2-2, in the sixth inning to send the game into extra innings. First baseman Ray Chang smashed a grounder up the middle to center field that scored second baseman Tony Renda, who hit a ground-rule double to left center.
Mississippi got on the scoreboard first in the first inning when right fielder Jody Lara hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored shortstop Ozzie Albies from third base.
The Braves upped its lead, 2-0, in the third inning when Lipka doubled to center field and then scored on Hyams’ groundball to shortstop.
But the Blue Wahoos fought back to score a run and cut Mississippi’s lead to, 2-1, in the fifth inning when center fielder Beau Amaral singled sharply to right field to score Pin-Chieh Chen, who walked, from second base.
Sal Romano, the Cincinnati Reds No. 9 prospect according to Baseball America, pitched 5.1 inning and allowed two runs on nine hits and two walks. He struck out three batters.
Meanwhile, Mississippi starter Sean Newcomb gave up one run in five innings on four hits and two walks, and he struck out five.
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