Blue Wahoos Miss On Chances As M-Braves Even Series

August 31, 2024

written by Bill Vilona

A night after a memorable comeback win, the Blue Wahoos again had a sixth-inning chance at a go-ahead rally.

This time it fizzled. And then loomed large the rest of the way.

The Mississippi Braves broke through with a pair of late-inning, solo homers and their bullpen – led by former Pensacola State College star Patrick Halligan – did the rest in a 4-2 win Friday to even the series at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

A crowd of 4,089 watched a battle of the bullpens in the final four innings.

With the game tied in the bottom of the sixth, the Blue Wahoos loaded the bases with one out. M-Braves lefthanded reliever Drew Parrish dug in.

Parrish, a Merritt Island native who pitched at Florida State, located a 3-2 fastball that froze Graham Pauley on a called strikeout. He then threw a cutter to strike out Joe Mack swinging to end the inning. The Blue Wahoos finished the game 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

From that point, the Blue Wahoos only managed one hit. Halligan pitched in the seventh and eighth innings, giving up one hit, a walk and three strikeouts to earn his sixth win. He is now 5-1 with a 2.16 earned run average and has allowed just two runs in his last nine appearances.

Halligan, 24, a Vienna, Virginia native, was drafted out of PSC in 2021 as a 13th round pick by the Kansas City Royals. He was acquired by the Atlanta Braves as a minor league free agent before the 2023 season. Halligan earned a hold in the M-Braves’ win Wednesday against the Blue Wahoos.

Pauley drove in the Blue Wahoos’ first run in the first inning on a single that scored Nathan Martorella, who had hit a one-out double.

The M-Braves took a 2-1 lead on Cody Milligan’s two-run single against Blue Wahoos starter Jacob Miller in the fifth inning. Miller had another strong start. He did not allow a hit in the first four innings and finished with two hits allowed and three strikeouts in five innings pitched.

The Blue Wahoos tied the game in their half of the fifth. Paul McIntosh’s two-out single scored Pauley, who had reached on a single.

The M-Braves’ Cal Conley hit a two-out homer off Justin King in the eighth. Yolbert Sanchez homered off Dale Stanavich in the ninth.

The Blue Wahoos will try to take a lead in the series with Saturday’s game in the second-to-final fireworks night of the season. Robby Snelling will be on the mound for the Blue Wahoos against the M-Braves’ Lucas Braun.

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