SL1 Mississippi Braves

Mobile to Much for Mississippi

Published on August 10, 2007 under Southern League (SL1)
Mississippi Braves News Release


Game three of this five-game series between the M-Braves and BayBears was a replica of game two in many ways. Mobile took the early lead, the Braves came back, and then the BayBears offense exploded to put the game out of reach. Mississippi's late runs weren't enough to get back in the game on either night.

At Trustmark Park Friday night, Mobile jumped out to a 2-0 lead and the Braves cut it in half at 2-1. Mobile then got five in the fourth, but again, the Braves got back in the game with three in the fifth. Mobile then put up a run in the sixth and two in the seventh to get back to a six-run lead at 10-4. The M-Braves mounted one last comeback in the eighth, but it came up short as they could only pull to within three at 10-7.

The BayBears struck first in this one after Javier Brito led off with his second triple of the year. He came in to score on Chris Rahl's single to left to give Mobile a 1-0 lead. They added another run in the second after Aaron Cunningham led off with a double and later scored on a wild pitch.

The M-Braves cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third when T.J. Bohn hit a two-out RBI double that scored J.C. Holt. As soon as Mississippi got back in the game, the BayBears pulled away with a five-run fourth.

Three singles and three doubles in the inning brought five runs to the plate to push Mobile out to a 7-1 lead. Brito ripped a single off of third baseman Van Pope to get things started in the inning. Rahl then doubled to left and Cesar Nicolas singled up the middle scoring both Rahl and Brito. Josh Ford doubled to put runners at second and third again and, with the infield in, pitcher Esmerling Vasquez shot a single through the right side to score Nicolas. Ford came in to score on a wild pitch and Vasquez scored on a double by Wilkin Castillo. After three-and-a-half the BayBears were up 7-1.

Diory Hernandez's three-run homer in the fifth got the Braves back in the game. Bohn started the two-out rally with a single up the middle and Kala Ka'aihue drew a walk to set things up for Hernandez. Hernandez ripped a 1-1 pitch over the left-center field wall to pull the M-Braves to within three runs at 7-4.

Mobile came back with a run in the sixth to push their lead back to four at 8-4. Cunningham was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a sac-bunt. Emilio Bonifacio's single to left scored Cunningham from second with the BayBears eighth run. They added two more in the seventh when Nicolas doubled home Brito and Rahl to push the lead to 10-4.

Mississippi had enough for another late rally in the bottom of the eighth. Diory Hernandez and Josh Burrus hit back-to-back singles and Van Pope walked to load the bases with no one out. Clint Sammons singled to right scoring Hernandez and Matt Young drew a pinch-hit walk to score Burrus. With the bases still loaded, Carl Loadenthal hit into a fielder's choice that scored Pope from third and cut the BayBears lead to 10-7, but that was as close as they'd get.

Ryan Baerlocher gave up seven runs on 11 hits in his four innings of work and suffered his first AA loss of '07. Brad Nelson gave up three runs on four hits in three innings and Rich Scalamandre threw one scoreless frame to close out the game. Phil Stockman threw a scoreless ninth.

Esmerling Vasquez gave up four runs on eight hits in his five innings of work. He left the game with an 8-4 lead and earned his ninth win of '07. A.J. Shappi threw two shutout frames for the BayBears and Matt Elliot gave up three runs on three hits without allowing a run. Mark Rosen got the BayBears out of the eighth and threw a scoreless ninth to earn his sixth save of the year.

Mississippi and Mobile are scheduled to play game four of this five-game series Saturday night at Trustmark Park at 7:05. The pitching match-up will feature lefty Kelvin Villa (7-9, 5.32) for the Braves against righty Max Scherzer (2-4, 4.31) for the BayBears. Saturday night at Trustmark Park is Parrot Head Paradise Night when the Braves players will wear special Jimmy Buffet style jerseys during the game and auction them off after the game. Fans will hear beach music during the game and the entire ballpark will have a ‘beach feel' all night.

Tomahawk Chops:

* Diory Hernandez hit his seventh homer of the year, a three-run shot, in the fifth ... He went 3-5 with three RBI and a run scored. * T.J. Bohn went 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored. * Josh Burrus went 2-4 with a run scored.

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Southern League Stories from August 10, 2007


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