Thrilling Comeback Falls Short As Blue Wahoos Drop Braves Finale

May 29, 2023

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos came agonizingly close to completing a dramatic comeback on Sunday night, but fell 6-5 to the Mississippi Braves in their series finale.

Trailing 6-3 going into the ninth, the Blue Wahoos rallied back as Nasim Nuñez narrowly missed a game-tying three-run homer, instead settling for an RBI single off the right field wall. Nuñez was stranded as the tying run at third as Victor Mesa Jr. lined out to right field to end the game.

In an uncharacteristically shaky outing, Patrick Monteverde (L, 5-1) allowed six runs over 3.0 innings to take his first loss of the season.

The Blue Wahoos took two early leads against Luis De Avila (W, 2-4), as Cody Morissette and José Devers hit RBI singles in the second and third innings, but the Braves answered back against Monteverde each time. Mississippi took the lead for good with a four-run third, capped by an RBI single from Beau Philip.

In a rarity, each team finessed a steal of home on a double steal attempt. Pensacola brought home Mesa from third on a Devers steal in the third inning, marking their second steal of home in a week but just their sixth in team history. The Braves returned the favor in the bottom of the third as Justin Dean came home on a Luke Waddell steal.

With two on and two out in the ninth in a one-run game, the Braves called upon Trey Riley (S, 1) to go after Mesa. The Pensacola center fielder blistered a liner to right-center, where it was caught by Jesse Franklin V to end the game.

The Blue Wahoos remain 5.0 games ahead of second place Biloxi and Montgomery in the South Division with 24 games to play in the first half.

After an off day Monday, the Blue Wahoos continue their road trip on Tuesday as they travel to Biloxi to take on the Shuckers.

written by Erik Bremer, photo/Blue Wahoos

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