SL1 Biloxi Shuckers

Game Information & Lineup

Published on April 9, 2015 under Southern League (SL1)
Biloxi Shuckers News Release


Today's Game Notes:

TODAY'S GAME: The Biloxi Shuckers come to life tonight in game one of a five-game series at Pensacola. RHP Brooks Hall makes his second consecutive Opening Day start for Milwaukee's Double-A affiliate. Hall was 2-1 with a 2.72 ERA in five starts in Double-A last season. Opposite Hall is Cincinnati Reds' overall top prospect Robert Stephenson. The 2011 first round pick was 7-10 with a 4.74 ERA in 27 games (26 starts) for Pensacola in 2014.

SHUCKERS RECAP: The Double-A club for Milwaukee (Huntsville) posted a 77-63 record in 2014 and qualified for the postseason after winning the Southern League North Division first-half title, going 46-24. They went 31-39 during the second half. In the Southern League Semifinals, the Stars dropped a best-of-five series to the Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers affiliate), three games to two.

THE ROAD WARRIORS: The Shuckers begin the inaugural season away from home while MGM Park is being constructed and have a provisional scheduled 55-game road trip to start the season. The Shuckers will serve as the "home team" during five-game series at Jacksonville, April 20-24, vs. Mobile in Huntsville, April 30-May 4, at Mississippi, May 6-10, vs. Jacksonville, May 16-19 in Huntsville (includes a doubleheader) and vs. Birmingham, May 21-25 in Huntsville. The long road trip is not the first for a minor league team as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, Triple-A affiliate of the Yankees played their entire 144-game schedule away from home in 2012 because of stadium renovations. The club played 37 of those games in Rochester, NY.

CACTUS SHUCKERS SUCCESS: Biloxi's Cactus Shuckers won their last two spring games (including one against Pensacola) ending with an 8-3-2 overall record. Milwaukee's four full-season affiliates finished with a record of 30-22-3 this spring. Nick Ramirez led the way batting .438 (14x32) with two doubles, two triples and five runs scored. The starting rotation of Hall, Tyler Wagner, Jorge Lopez, Hobbs Johnson and Jacob Barnes allowed just six runs over 24.1 innings during the spring (2.24 ERA).

START ME UP: The starting rotation of Hall, Wagner, Lopez, Johnson and Barnes combined to go 39-31 with a 3.22 ERA during the 2014 campaign. The group allowed 208 earned runs in 582.2 innings pitched.

OPENING DAY ROSTER FILLED WITH PROSPECTS: The Shuckers' Inaugural roster features 10 of the top-30 prospects in the Milwaukee Brewers' organization, according to Baseball America. Of the 10, three are in the top-10: Tyrone Taylor (1), Orlando Arcia (2) and Tyler Wagner (9). Others include RHP Tyler Wagner (9), INF Yadiel Rivera (13), RHP Jorge Lopez (15), OF Kyle Wren (19), LHP Hobbs Johnson (23), RHP Brooks Hall (25), RHP Mike Strong (29) and RHP Damien Magnifico (30).

MAJOR LEAGUE EXPERIENCE: RHP Jaye Chapman made his MLB debut on September 4, 2012 at Washington as a member of the Chicago Cubs and went 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA in 14 relief outings. INF Taylor Green made his MLB debut for the Brewers on August 31, 2011 and played in 20 games, posting a .270 batting average with an RBI. In 2012, Green appeared in 58 games for the Brew Crew accumulating seven doubles, three home runs and 14 RBI's over 58 games. Overall, Green made 30 starts (14 games at first base, 11 games at third base, 4 games at second base, 1 game at DH) and was on the 2011 postseason roster for Milwaukee, appearing off the bench in both the NLDS (1 game) and NLCS (2 games).

RETURN OF THE STARS:

. 12 members of the 2014 Huntsville Stars return to Milwaukee's Double-A affiliate for the 2015 season, including seven pitchers (Jacob Barnes, Brooks Hall, Tanner Poppe, Austin Ross, Mike Strong and Brent Suter) and six position player (Josh Fellauer, Taylor Green, Nick Ramirez, Yadiel Rivera, Tyrone Taylor and Adam Weisenburger).

'TEE-ING OFF:

. Biloxi has nine players that played all of 2014 with Class-A Brevard County. The roster includes five pitchers (Hobbs Johnson, Lopez, Damien Magnifico, Martin Viramontes and Wagner) and four positions players (Parker Berberet, Arcia, Nathan Orf and Michael Reed).

WHO ARE THE SHUCKERS?: Formerly the Huntsville Stars, the new Biloxi professional baseball team revealed the new identity on November 24, 2014, as the Biloxi Shuckers took center stage during a ceremony inside Biloxi's historic Saenger Theatre. The team name was selected after nearly 60,000 votes were cast after the month-long "Name the Team" contest yielded six finalists. A tenacious oyster is the centerpiece of the identity, seen both in the club's primary logo, home and alternate caps. The letters "BS" to make up the road cap designation - the Biloxi Lighthouse logo, resiliently rising above historic storm waters. Gulf Blue, Sand, Coral, and Black make up the club's new official colors, paying tribute to the Gulf Coast. The Shuckers are the first professional sports team to use this color combination.

ABOUT BILOXI: Founded in the late 17th century by French explorers, Biloxi has a population of 44,578 and is the home of Keesler Air Force Base... With many wonderful beaches, golf courses, fishing charters, museums and the iconic Biloxi Lighthouse, Biloxi is the perfect place for friends and families to get away and take a much-needed vacation.

COMING SOON...MGM Park: As the Shuckers begin the 2015 season on the road, their future home, MGM Park is currently being constructed.MGM Park is located off of Highway 90 and Interstate 110, adjacent to Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, MGM Park is within walking distance of downtown Biloxi and beaches of the Gulf Coast. The stadium, being built by the city of Biloxi, broke ground on January 24, 2014 and is being constructed by Architect Dale Partners P.A. of Biloxi and Yates Construction. MGM Park is 455,000 square feet and will seat 6,067 for baseball and up to 15,000 for concerts. Home plate will sit 21 feet above sea level and currently the dimensions are LF- 326', CF- 401', RF- 326'.

. MGM Park features a tiered Party Patio with 4Tops and premium seating for up to 100 persons or groups...12 Luxury Suites...the Mercedes Benz Lounge with capacity of 75 to 100...Two Party decks (first base and third base) located on the suite level with capacity of up to 50-75...Grass berm in right-center field, one main gate located down the third-base line...centerfield gate and two entrances on the concourse level.

. MGM Park will feature two state of the art video boards in right field and left field. The right field board is full-color LED and is 32' x 46'. A secondary board located in left field is an LED display that is 14' x 48'.

. Ovations Food Services' Everything's FreshT approach will bring unique and seasonal menus to MGM Park. Fans will experience customized menus that reflect the regional flavors of the Mississippi Gulf Coast including the Aw Shucks GrillT, Pearl's Po BoysT, Beacon BurgersT, Barq's Biloxi CreameryT, Biloxi BarbequeT and Ballpark ClassicsT.

Check out the Biloxi Shuckers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Southern League Stories from April 9, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central