Biloxi Beats The Blue Wahoos 3-0

July 2, 2021

Two trends went in a wrong direction Thursday night in the Blue Wahoos 3-0 loss against the Biloxi Shuckers.

The comeback offense, the late-inning thrills the Blue Wahoos have produced so often at home, were absent as four Biloxi pitchers combined on a 1-hitter to quiet the crowd of 4,002 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

And the Shuckers, mired in a nine-game losing streak, won for the first time since June 18 when they pounded the Rocket City Trash Pandas 13-1. It was their first shutout win since May 15.

The loss fell on a night when Blue Wahoos starter Jake Eder became the leader in lowest earned run average through all levels of Minor League Baseball, following his five shutout innings.

“I was just told that,” he said after the game. “Yeah, that’s cool. But it doesn’t really matter to me right now. The only thing that is important to me is the next start.

Eder’s ERA fell to 1.03, but it also happened through a high-wire act he pulled off.

The game began with Biloxi’s first two batters reaching on walks, then Eder recording a pair of strikeouts to end that threat. In the second inning, the Shuckers loaded the bases with a leadoff walk, a single and Eder hitting the third batter.

But he got a nifty double-play on a hard-hit ball to Blue Wahoos’ third baseman Demetrius Sims, who stepped on the bag, then threw to the plate to get the second out. Eder than got the next batter to pop out.

After inducing another double-play in the third inning, he retired the final seven batters he faced. He threw 74 pitches, but only 44 for strikes, which led to the bullpen being summoned after the fifth inning.

“I definitely was not in rhythm early, but I think after the third, my slider started landing for a strike and that got me back in rhythm and I started going from there,” said Eder, a fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft out of Vanderbilt where he primarily was used as a reliever.

The Blue Wahoos only hit occurred on first baseman J.D. Osborne’s leadoff single in the third inning. The only time the Blue Wahoos had multiple base runners was in the ninth.

Trailing 3-0, J.J. Bleday and Jerar Encarnacion followed a double-play by reaching on walks. Nick Fortes got a pitch he liked and sent it to right field, but not quite deep enough for dramatics and the game ended with a putout.

The Shuckers gained insurance runs in the top of the ninth on a two-run homer from Lucas Erceg. Prior to that, the game’s only run was scored in the sixth inning. when Blue Wahoos center fielder Victor Victor Mesa misplayed a fly ball, falling down and leading to a run-scoring play.

The teams will continue their six-game series Friday.

by Bill Vilona, Blue Wahoos senior writer

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