SL Mississippi Braves

M-Braves Fall 9-8 on Walk-off Grand Slam Thursday Night

Published on August 24, 2023 under Southern League (SL)
Mississippi Braves News Release


Mississippi Braves on game night
Mississippi Braves on game night
(Mississippi Braves)

MONTGOMERY, AL - Trailing 8-5 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Montgomery's Erik Ostberg hit a walk-off grand slam to beat the Mississippi Braves (51-64, 18-29) 9-8 on Thursday night at Riverwalk Stadium. The Montgomery Biscuits (62-55, 26-22) erased a four-run deficit to win their second game of the series.

Mississippi came out of the gates swinging with a four-run first inning. Cal Conley had a one-out single, and Luke Waddell followed with a walk to place two on base. Jesse Franklin V extended his on-base streak to 32 games in style with a three-run home run to put Mississippi up 3-0. Cade Bunnell and Bryson Horne hit back-to-back doubles and it was 4-0.

Daniel Martinez made his first M-Braves start since April 15, and after giving up two runs in the first two innings, he settled in for a quality start. Over 6.0 innings, the Riverside, CA native gave up two runs on four hits with four walks and six strikeouts.

The M-Braves extended their lead to 5-1 in the second inning with a run-scoring single by Waddell and 6-2 in the fourth inning on a double by Waddell. The M-Braves shortstop finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs. He has six RBIs in the first three games of the series.

A controversial two-run triple down the third base line scored two runs for the Biscuits in the seventh inning, cutting the lead to 6-4. The M-Braves seemed to put the game away in the eighth inning with back-to-back RBI singles from Horne and Brandon Parker. Horne reached base four times on Thursday night, collecting three hits and two RBI. Parker was 1-for-4 with a walk and RBI in his Double-A debut. The Saucier, MS native, West Harrison, and MGCCC product became the first Mississippi high school player to start a game for the M-Braves since Austin Riley on May 5, 2018.

Leading 8-4, heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Biscuits quickly made it 8-5 on back-to-back hits from Caminero and Tanner Murray. Ty Tice (L, 0-2) struck out back-to-back batters to force the Biscuits to their final out. The right-hander walked Heriberto Hernandez and Alex Ovalles to load the bases for Ostberg. The reserve catcher hit his fourth long ball of the season, giving the Biscuits a walk-off 9-8 win.

Cody Milligan recorded another multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-5 with a triple. Franklin walked three times in addition to the home run. His on-base streak is now the third-longest in M-Braves history, trailing Christian Bethencourt (40) and Ozzie Alblies (36). Bunnell was on base three times with a double, walk, and hit-by-pitching, scoring twice. The M-Braves left 13 runners on base.

Thursday's loss drops Mississippi to 2-12 in one-run games since June 15.

Game four of the series is on Friday night at Riverwalk Stadium. The M-Braves will start LHP Luis De Avila (6-8, 3.23), and LHP Mason Montgomery (5-4, 4.55) will start for Montgomery. The first pitch is at 6:35 pm CT, with coverage starting 15 minutes before on 102.1 The Box, MiLB First Pitch App, and Bally Live.

The M-Braves return to Trustmark Park for the final homestand of 2023 on Tuesday, August 29, welcoming Rocket City, August 29 to September 3, and Tennessee Smokies, September 5-10. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting mississippibraves.com.

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Mississippi Braves on game night
Mississippi Braves on game night
   



Southern League Stories from August 24, 2023


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