Wahoos Earn 11 Hits In 7-4 Win Over Biloxi

August 10, 2016

This time the Pensacola Blue Wahoos changed up its game script a little bit. Instead of waiting until late in the game to score, the Blue Wahoos jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning.

Behind four players who had multi-hit games and seven of the nine starters getting a hit, Pensacola won the final game of the five-game series over the Biloxi Shuckers, 7-4, Tuesday at MGM Park.

The Pensacola lineup that scored 11 runs in the first four games and hit .236 broke out in the last game of the series with seven runs on 11-36 hitting for a .305 batting average.

Although Biloxi snapped a six series losing streak, beating Pensacola, 3-2, the Blue Wahoos closed out the season with the Shuckers Tuesday with a 13-12 record.

Pensacola, the first half Southern League South Division champions, is now 21-24 in the second half and 7.5 games behind the South Division leader Mississippi Braves that have a 28-16 record. Biloxi fell to 18-27 and are in last place after being neck-and-neck with the Blue Wahoos in the race for the first half title.

Blue Wahoos shortstop Zach Vincej and right fielder Sebastian Elizalde led the Pensacola offense on Tuesday. Vincej was 2-5 with a run scored and three RBIs. He is hitting .309 in the second half, so far, after hitting .258 in the first half of the season. Vincej leads the Blue Wahoos with 22 multi-hit games.

Elizalde went 2-5 with two runs scored and has 21 multi-hit games this season for Pensacola. He has gotten a hit in his last six games.

Also having a good game at the plate Tuesday was left fielder Phillip Ervin, who went 2-4 with a double, solo home run and scored twice. He leads Pensacola with 51 runs scored this season, plus is second on the team in both homers with 10 and RBIs with 36.

Pensacola scored five runs in the second inning when it sent all nine batters to the plate with four hits, including three doubles by Phillips, Vincej and second baseman Alex Blandino, and two walks.

Blue Wahoos left fielder Ervin started the big inning when he doubled in Elizalde to put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 1-0. Vincej doubled in both catcher Joe Hudson (2-4, one run scored) and Ervin to give Pensacola a 3-0 lead. Vincej then scored when center fielder Brandon Dixon grounded out to second base to make the score, 4-0. The final run of the inning scored when Blandino doubled in first baseman Chad Wallach for a 5-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Pensacola starter Nick Travieso pitched for the first time since July 18 and threw 3.1 scoreless innings with three hits, three walks and two strikeouts. Pensacola reliever Barrett Astin relieved Travieso and got the win (7-3) working 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out two. Astin lowered his ERA to 2.37.

Biloxi did earn four in the bottom of the eighth inning when catcher Jacob Nottingham singled back up the middle to knock in both pinch hitter Tom Belza and left fielder Johnny Davis to trail Pensacola, 7-2.

Pensacola sent in its top closer Alejandro Chacin to rescue reliever Carlos Gonzalez, who loaded the bases with one out by walking first baseman Dustin DeMuth and hitting right fielder Clint Coulter.

Chacin then promptly walked Biloxi second baseman Javier Betancourt to score Nottingham making the score, 7-3, Pensacola. Shuckers third baseman Gabriel Noriega than hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored DeMuth to pull the Shuckers within, 7-4.

Chacin, who has a 1.76 ERA, settled down in the ninth inning setting down the Biloxi side with two strikeouts. He ended up working 1.2 innings with a walk and three strikeouts to earn his Southern League-leading 22nd save of the season.

Comments

Comments are closed.

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