Pensacola Blue Wahoos Stumble Against The M-Braves

May 7, 2018

The Blue Wahoos used six extra-base hits to slug out a 9-7 win in front of a sellout crowd in Sunday’s finale at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Both teams brought the offense early and often throughout Sunday’s matinee. Gabriel Guerrero gave the Wahoos a quick lead with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first off M-Braves starter Enderson Franco. The lead was short-lived after Mississippi scored five runs in the top of the second inning. Daniel Lockhart tallied a two-run double before Michael Reed’s three-run homer off Wyatt Strahan gave the M-Braves a 5-2 advantage.

But the Wahoos would not be denied in a game that featured five lead changes. In the bottom of the second inning with the bases loaded, Josh VanMeter hit a shallow fly ball that fell between three M-Braves to clear the bases. Pensacola scored four times in the second inning to take a 6-5 lead. The back-and-forth affair continued when Mississippi scored two more runs in the third inning to regain a 7-6 lead.

The game took an interesting twist in the top of the fourth inning when both Strahan and manager Jody Davis were ejected from the game after arguing with the first-base umpire on a play where Brian O’Grady was deemed to have taken his foot off the bag. That again forced the Wahoos to use their bullpen for the majority of the game. Carlos Navas (W, 1-0) held the M-Braves off the board over his 2.2 innings en route to his first win of the year.

Pensacola took the lead for the third and final time in the fifth inning when O’Grady walked, stole a base, and advanced to third on a flyout by Aristides Aquino. He then scored on a wild pitch from Adam McCreery (L, 0-2), which made the score 8-7. Pensacola tacked on an insurance run in the seventh inning when Guerrero tripled and scored on O’Grady’s flare to right.

Alex Powers closed out the game with two scoreless innings as the right-hander grabbed his third save in as many opportunities this season.

The Wahoos hit the road for their first 10-game road trip of the season. They will begin in Birmingham for a five-game series against the Barons before heading south towards Biloxi to fend off the Shuckers.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News