Wahoos Capture Series With Braves

August 22, 2016

If the first half champion Pensacola Blue Wahoos and the second half frontrunner Mississippi Braves meet in the Southern League South Division playoffs in 15 days, fans can expect lots of excitement.

The Blue Wahoos won Sunday’s game, 6-3, over Mississippi to capture the final series on the road at Trustmark Park, 3-2.

On the season, Pensacola ended up winning the matchup, 12-8. The teams played seven extra-inning games, with the Blue Wahoos winning four of those contests.

Wait! There’s more. How evenly matched are the possible South Division playoff teams? Of the 20 games this season, 10 were decided by one run and four were decided by two runs.

Sunday’s game was atypical of the clubs’ season-long battles. Scoring only one run on three hits to trail Mississippi, 2-1, after seven innings, Pensacola scored four runs in the eighth inning on five hits, including a double, and a walk and sent eight batters to the plate.

Pensacola went ahead, 5-2 when Blue Wahoos shortstop Zach Vincej singled in the eighth inning to drive in right fielder Sebastian Elizalde with the first run of the inning that tied the game, 2-2. With two outs, Pensacola third baseman Taylor Sparks doubled in center fielder Brandon Dixon and first baseman Eric Jagielo to put the Blue Wahoos on top, 4-2. Pensacola catcher Chad Wallach then hit a line drive single to centerfield to score Sparks giving the Blue Wahoos a 5-2 lead.

Elizalde extended Pensacola’s lead to 6-2 in the top of the ninth when he doubled in second baseman Alex Blandino, who hit a lead-off single.

Mississippi had jumped on top in the second inning when right fielder Stephen Gaylor singled to knock in both catcher Joseph Odom and center fielder Connor Lien to put the Braves ahead, 2-0.

Besides being evenly matched, both teams also boast the top two pitching teams in the Southern League. Mississippi boasts a 3.05 team ERA, while Pensacola has a 3.20 ERA.

That good pitching was on full display again Sunday.

Pensacola right-handed starter Nick Travieso worked six innings, allowing two runs, one earned on eight hits, two walks and he struck out eight.

Meanwhile, Mississippi starter Lucas Smith also lasted six innings, allowing one run on three hits and four walks, while striking out seven.

On offense for Pensacola Sunday, Pensacola’s Dixon led the way, going 3-5 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Dixon went 10-18 with three doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs in the five-game series. He now has 24 multi-hit games for the Blue Wahoos this season.

Elizalde also was 3-5 Sunday with a double, two runs scored and one RBI. For the series, he was 9-22 and upped his multi-hit games to a team-leading 27.

Heading into the final three series of the season, Pensacola is 28-27 and sits in third place in the Southern League South Division, 5.5 games behind South Division front-runner Mississippi, which is 33-21 in the second half. Overall, Pensacola is 69-56 this season, while Mississippi is 67-56.

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