Mississippi got a pair of incredible performances on the mound from two of Atlanta’s top prospects on Wednesday as the Braves swept both games in their Double-A doubleheader in what was a full day of action down on the farm.
(20-21) Gwinnett Stripers 3, (21-20) Memphis Redbirds 10
- Forrest Wall, RF: 1-4, HR, RBI, R, BB
- Phillip Evans, 3B: 2-4, HR, RBI, R
- Yuli Gurriel, 1B: 1-4, 3B, RBI
- Darius Vines, SP: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Despite the final score, things actually started out on a positive note for Gwinnett. To leadoff the game, Forrest Wall launched his third homer of the year to stake the Stripers to a 1-0 lead. After David Fletcher drew a walk, a Yuli Gurriel triple brought him home to extend the Gwinnett lead to 2-0.
Stripers starter Darius Vines allowed one of those runs back in the bottom of the second inning as Memphis cut the lead to 2-1. The Redbirds would tag VInes for two more runs in the bottom of the third and one run in the bottom of the fourth as Memphis took a 4-2 lead. Things went from bad to worse for Vines and Gwinnett as he — and Brooks Wilson who came on in relief in the fifth inning — allowed five more runs as Memphis extended their lead to 9-2.
Memphis got another run, their tenth of the game, in the bottom of the seventh off Jimmy Herget to take an eight-run lead over the Stripers.
Gwinnett finally produced another run, albeit in the top of the ninth on a Phillip Evans solo home run to make it a 10-3 ballgame. However, that was all the offense the Stripers got — especially in the latter half of the game — in the loss.
On a positive pitching note, David Fletcher — yes, that David Fletcher — was called on in relief to save the bullpen and tossed a scoreless inning, allowing just one walk and striking out three batters in the frame.
(13-21) Mississippi Braves 2, (16-18) Biloxi Shuckers 1 (Game One)
- Drake Baldwin, C: 1-3, HR, RBI, R
- Tyler Tolve, DH: 0-2, RBI, Sac Fly
- Hurston Waldrep, SP: 8 IP, 6 H, ER, 8 K
Game one of Mississippi’s doubleheader ended in fireworks as the Braves walked things off against Biloxi.
Hurston Waldrep got the start for Mississippi and tossed a scoreless first inning before allowing one run in the top of the second inning as Biloxi took a 1-0 lead. However, that was the only blemish on Waldrep’s line as he dazzled across eight innings in the complete game victory while striking out eight batters.
Offensively, the Braves were held scoreless over the first three frames as Biloxi maintained their 1-0 lead. Mississippi finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Drake Baldwin homered over the right field wall.
Things remained relatively quiet for a while offensively for both squads, resulting in the game heading into extra innings. After Waldrep worked a scoreless top of the eighth, the Braves went to work in the home half. Justin Dean began the inning on second base and moved up to third on a wild pitch. Then, on a 3-2 pitch, Tyler Tolve flew out to right field, deep enough to score Dean and give the Braves the walkoff victory by a 2-1 final in game one.
(14-21) Mississippi Braves 1, (16-19) Biloxi Shuckers 0 (Game Two)
- Yolmer Sanchez, 2B: 2-3, 2B, RBI
- Nacho Alvarez Jr., SS: 1-2, 3B
- Spencer Schwellenbach, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, BB, 9 K
Just when you thought Waldrep’s performance couldn’t be one-upped in the same day, his newest teammate did just that in game two of Mississippi’s doubleheader.
In his first start at the Double-A level, Spencer Schwellenbach was simply incredible for the Braves. Across six innings, the righthander struck out nine batters, allowing just two hits and one walk on the night.
As Schwellenbach was dominating, the Braves offense was held scoreless in the first inning, but jumped out to a lead in the second frame. In what was the only run scored in the game, Yolbert Sanchez singled home Cody Milligan — who drew a walk with one out — to take a 1-0 lead over Biloxi. While Nacho Alvarez Jr. would triple later in the game, the one run in the second inning was the only true offense the Braves could muster in game two.
That one-run lead would be more than enough to hold the Shuckers at bay as Schwellenbach and reliever Parker Dunshee held Biloxi to just three hits on the day as the Braves swept both games of their doubleheader.
(18-15) Rome Emperors 3, (14-20) Asheville Tourists 4
- Kevin Kilpatrick Jr., CF: 1-4, HR, RBI, R
- Adam Zebrowski, DH: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
- Sabin Ceballos, 3B: 2-4, 2B, R
- Riley Frey, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 5 K
A late bullpen collapse led to Rome’s fall on Wednesday as the Emperors fell by a 4-3 final to Asheville.
Recently-promoted Riley Frey made his first start at High-A and despite giving up a first inning run — allowing the Tourists to take a 1-0 lead — he put together a superb night for Rome. Across six innings, Frey scattered four hits while allowing just the one run and striking out five.
After Rome went scoreless in the first two frames, the Emperors broke through on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning to tie the game. With one out in the frame, Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. homered over the center field fence to make it a 1-1 game.
While Frey was dominating on the mound, Rome eventually took its first lead of the night in the top of the sixth inning. Sabin Ceballos led off the frame with a single and two batters later, Adam Zebrowski brought him home on a two-run homer to give the Emperors a 3-1 lead.
Elison Joseph came on in relief and tossed a scoreless seventh and eighth innings, preserving the lead.
However, things went south quickly in the bottom of the ninth inning. With Shay Schanaman on the bump after taking over for Joseph, Asheville tagged him for three runs — two earned — to walk things off against Rome. Kilpatrick Jr. was charged with a throwing error on the final play of the game, aiding in the collapse.
(15-18) Augusta GreenJackets 1, (16-18) Salem Red Sox 4
- Jace Grady, RF: 2-5
- Diego Benitez, SS: 1-2, 2B, RBI, BB
- Cade Kuehler, SP: 4.2 IP, 3 H, ER, 6 BB, 6 K
It was a rough go of it for the GreenJackets on Wednesday as Augusta was held to just five hits in the 4-1 loss.
Despite allowing six walks and three hits on the night, Cade Kuehler only allowed one run across his 4.2 innings of work. The only run allowed by Kuehler came in the top of the second as Salem took a 1-0 lead.
Meanwhile at the dish, offense was relatively hard to come by for Augusta. The first real scoring opportunity for the GreenJackets came in the bottom of the third inning when walks by Jacob Godman, Joe Olsavsky and Drew Compton loaded the bases. However, the GreenJackets weren’t able to bring a run across.
The first hit for the GreenJackets came in the bottom of the fifth on a Jace Grady single.
William Silva came on to relieve Kuehler in the top of the fifth inning and managed to stave off any additional damage in the frame, as well as throwing a scoreless sixth as well. Beau Philip took over in the top of the seventh and allowed one run as Salem extended their lead to 2-0, but bounced back to toss a scoreless eighth to keep the lead at two.
In the bottom of the eighth, Augusta finally got on the board. Will Verdung reached on an error and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Verdung later moved up to third on a passed ball before being brought home on a Diego Benitez double to cut the Salem lead in half at 2-1.
With Philip still on the bump, the Red Sox tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth inning to extend their lead to 4-1 while slamming the door on Augusta in the home half to take the win.
