Wahoos Come Back For 7-4 Win Over Mobile

April 23, 2019

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos overcame a rare deficit in a 7-4 win over the Mobile BayBears on Monday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Brian Schales led the team both offensively and defensively, going 3-4 with a triple, double, single, run batted in, and run scored as well as a collection of impressive defensive plays at third base.

The Blue Wahoos scored first for the 15th time in 18 games this season, using a lead off single by Luis Arraez and subsequent triple by Schales to go up 1-0.

The lead held until the fourth inning behind Twins top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol. The 20-year-old righty struggled with his control early, walking the first two batters of the game, but he responded with a pair of strikeouts and a pick off to get out of the first.

Graterol added two more strikeouts in the second, flashing 100 miles-per-hour on the radar gun multiple times. After a 1-2-3 third inning, he ran into trouble in the fourth. A one out walk was followed by singles by Bo Way and Roberto Pena and a home run by Brendan Sanger to make it 4-1 in Mobile’s favor.

The Pensacola offense wasted no time responding. In the home half of the inning, Caleb Hamilton dropped a double into centerfield and advanced to third on a single by Tanner English. Taylor Grzelakowski poked a single into left to score Hamilton and make it 4-2. After a walk to Jordan Gore, Arraez single home two to tie the game.

Graterol threw a scoreless fifth, finishing his day with a line of 5.0 innings pitched, four hits, four earned runs, four walks, and six strikeouts on 81 pitches.

The Wahoos put Graterol in line for the win by pushing a run across in the fifth. Schales led off the inning with a double and a Jaylin Davis singled moved him to third. Hamilton then brought him home with a single into right to give Pensacola the 5-4 lead.

Sam Clay entered in the sixth in relief of Graterol and worked himself into and out of jams in both the sixth and seventh inning, allowing two base runners in each frame, but keeping the BayBears from scoring both times.

He ceded to Ryan Mason in the eighth, who struck out a pair in the inning. In the home half of the eighth, the Wahoos added a pair of insurance runs, using a single by English, fielding error, sac bunt, Gore sacrifice fly, and wild pitch to go up 7-4.

Mobile threatened in the ninth, as the first two batters in the inning singled, but Mason induced a double play and a strike out to end the game, preserved the victory, and earn his third save.

Graterol was the winning pitcher for the Wahoos, who improve to a league-best 13-5 on the season. Clay was credited with a hold and Mason got the save. Zac Kelly took the loss for Mobile, allowing three runs (one earned) in four innings of relief of starter Jose Rodriguez (4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 7 K).

Mobile and Pensacola will continue their five-game series at Blue Wahoos Stadium Tuesday.

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