Sports stats



SL1 Mississippi Braves

Kleinknecht Homers Twice, La Stella Extends Streak in M-Braves Win

August 6, 2013 - Southern League (SL1)
Mississippi Braves News Release


Huntsville, AL - A pair of Barrett Kleinknecht solo home runs and a Tommy La Stella bases-clearing double provided plenty of offense on Monday night as the Mississippi Braves soared to a 7-4 win over the Huntsville Stars at Joe Davis Stadium.

With the game tied 2-2, La Stella came to the plate with the bases loaded and smacked a double to left-center, simultaneously clearing the bases and extending his team-record hit streak to 23 games. The Braves (23-19; 61-51) took a 5-2 lead and never looked back.

Great pitching over the final three innings by Ronan Pacheco and Pat Egan held the Stars off, and Kleinknecht offered some insurance with his two solo home runs in the middle innings.

Leading 5-3 in the fifth, Kleinknecht muscled a line drive home run down the left field line to make it 6-3. The Stars (18-25; 47-64) answered with a Brock Kjeldgaard solo home run in the sixth, but Kleinknecht came up again and sent another homer sailing in the seventh to make it 7-4.

It was the first multi-home run game of Kleinknecht's professional career since being drafted by the Braves in the 12th round of the 2010 draft out of Francis Marion University.

Michael Lee got into some early trouble in the start for the Braves. Stars third baseman Mike Walker hit a two-run home run to put Huntsville ahead 2-0. After that though, Lee settled in and allowed just two runs the rest of the way in his six innings.

The Braves came back to tie it with a run in each of the next two innings. In the second, Dan Brewer hit a soft line-drive single over the shortstop's head, plating Christian Marrero to put Mississippi on the board. Then in the third, Jose Martinez rocketed a home run to left, his fifth of the season, to tie the game 2-2.

Lee (6-8) earned the win, allowing just four runs on nine hits in six innings. Egan picked up the save, his third of the year, pitching the final 1 2/3 innings scoreless.

Ariel Pena (5-8) made it just 3 1/3 innings, throwing 94 pitches in the outing while allowing four earned runs on four hits. He struck out five but walked three in the loss.

With the win, the Braves have won their third consecutive series, taking three of four from the Stars. They can make it four of five with the series finale on Tuesday night, with first pitch slated for 6:43 PM CT. Left-hander Ian Thomas (6-6, 2.81) gets the nod for the Braves against Stars right-hander Brooks Hall (0-4, 6.06). Listen live to Kyle Tait on the call beginning at 6:30 PM CT with the "Countdown to First Pitch" on 103.9 WYAB and online at MississippiBraves.com.

Check out the Mississippi Braves Statistics



Southern League Stories from August 6, 2013


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