Late Homers Lift Blue Wahoos To 4-3 Win Over Shuckers

June 1, 2023

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos got back in the win column on Wednesday night, beating the Biloxi Shuckers 4-3 thanks to some late heroics.

Trailing 4-3 in the eighth, Will Banfield led off the inning with a game-tying homer against Robbie Baker (L, 2-1) and Norel González followed with a go-ahead blast to put Pensacola ahead for good.

The home runs made a winner out of Luis Palacios (W, 3-1), who set new personal Double-A highs with 7.0 innings and eight strikeouts. The lefty allowed three runs, two earned, to tie Pensacola’s longest start of the season.

Biloxi took a 1-0 lead in the second as Lamar Sparks doubled and scored on a Nasim Nuñez fielding error. Pensacola answered back in the top of the third, as Dane Myers walked, stole second base, and scored on a Victor Mesa Jr. double. Mesa’s liner deflected off the head of Shuckers starter Tobias Myers, who finished the inning but made an early departure from the game.

Troy Johnston led off the fifth with a solo homer, his team-leading ninth of the year, but the Shuckers responded in the bottom of the fifth on an Isaac Collins RBI single.

Felix Valerio gave the Shuckers a brief 3-2 lead with a two-out RBI single in the seventh, but Palacios wriggled out of any further trouble by stranding two runners in scoring position with a strikeout of Biloxi outfielder Jackson Chourio.

After Pensacola’s two homers in the eighth, Sean Reynolds (S, 8) got the final six outs to earn his league-leading eighth save.

The Blue Wahoos increased their lead in the South Division to 5.0 games ahead of second-place Biloxi with 22 games to play in the first half.

The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Shuckers in Biloxi.

written by Erik Bremer, photo/Blue Wahoos

Comments

One Response to “Late Homers Lift Blue Wahoos To 4-3 Win Over Shuckers”

  1. michael Angelillo M.D. on June 2nd, 2023 3:17 pm

    Tobias Myers continues to pitch well. The announcer forgets to mention he throws a slider which he strikes out many batters not just a two seam four seam, change up, and curve ball. Also mention his strikeouts of near 500 which he will reach in the minor leagues a milestone! He should be making his debut this year.