SL1 Mississippi Braves

Waters Reaches Milestone in Sunday's Loss

June 30, 2019 - Southern League (SL1)
Mississippi Braves News Release


PENSACOLA, FL - Drew Waters became the first player in Double-A baseball to 100 hits on Sunday and Ryan Casteel hit his 11th home run, but it wasn't enough as the Mississippi Braves (6-5, 39-41) fell to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (6-5, 44-37) on Sunday, 7-5. The M-Braves could not overcome Pensacola's five-run fourth inning in the first of a four-game series at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

The M-Braves jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the road on Sunday when Luis Valenzuela notched one of his three hits to drive home Casteel in the second inning.

Tucker Davidson (L, 3-5) entered Sunday's game with the league's best ERA at 1.48, and the 23-year-old lefty began his outing brilliantly with three scoreless frames and seven strikeouts. Davidson's run of 16.2 innings without an earned run ended in the bottom of the fourth inning when Pensacola brought nine to the plate and scoring five runs.

Lewin Diaz started the rally with a double, and he scored to tie the game at 1-1 on a single by Jimmy Kerrigan. Alex Kirillof became the third straight Blue Wahoo to reach when he singled to place two on base. Two batters later, Caleb Hamilton ripped a two-run single to put Pensacola on top, 3-1. Davidson issued his first walk of the day to Joe Cronin and then Jordan Gore brought home two more with a single to end Davidson's outing. Overall, Davidson allowed five runs on seven hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Pensacola tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning when Gore struck for two-run double to make it 7-1.

The M-Braves wouldn't go down quietly on Sunday as they began to chip away the six-run deficit in the seventh inning. Waters picked up his second hit of the game on a two-run double to score Valenzuela and Cristian Pache a trim the Wahoos lead to 7-3. Waters became the first player in the Southern League and Double-A baseball to 100 hits with a third-inning single. His 2-for-5 performance was his 29th multi-hit effort of the season. He leads the league with 26 doubles and 39 extra-base hits.

Casteel made it 7-4 in the eighth inning on his 11th home run of the season, tying Pache for the team lead. Casteel was 3-for-4 on the night. Zach Weiss gave up the home run and went back out for the ninth inning for Pensacola. A single from Valenzuela greeted him and double by Daniel Lockhart. A sacrifice fly by Pache scored Valenzuela, and it was 7-5. Weiss struck out Waters and got a fly out from Tyler Neslony to preserve the two-run victory.

Game two of the four-game series is set for Monday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium. LHP Joey Wentz (4-6, 5.05) starts for the M-Braves against RHP Randy Dobnak (3-0, 3.00) for Pensacola. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 pm with coverage beginning at 6:20 pm on 103.9 WYAB, TuneIn Radio and MiLB.tv (subscription required).

The Braves return to Trustmark Park for a six-game series against the Biloxi Shuckers and Independence Day Celebration. The series begins with a Supersized Independence Day Fireworks Extravaganza following the 6:35 pm July 4 contest on Thursday. Visit mississippibraves.com for tickets or call 888-BRAVES4.

The Mississippi Braves are the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Since the inaugural 2005 season, 139 M-Braves have gone on to Major League Baseball. The M-Braves have made postseason play four times and went on to win the Southern League Championship in 2008. Stop by Trustmark Park or call 888-BRAVES4 Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. For the latest news and updates, visit mississippibraves.com or connect with @mbraves on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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