Braden Shewmake, Riley Unroe, Drew Lugbauer, and Hendrik Clementina homered

Published 1:26 pm Thursday, August 19, 2021

MONTGOMERY, AL – The Mississippi Braves hit three outside-the-park home runs and one inside-the-park home run to win their second straight over the Montgomery Biscuits on Wednesday night, 7-3. The fifth-straight road win and 10th win in 11 games pushed Mississippi’s lead in the Double-A South to 4.5 games over the Biscuits. The M-Braves bullpen recorded 3.1 shutout innings, only allowing one hit, and C.J. Alexander added three hits, including the go-ahead single in the top of the seventh.

The M-Braves (55-47), now a season-high 18-games over .500, started the scoring in the top of the fourth with a Braden Shewmake 100 mile per hour missile to right field for a solo home run that traveled 395 feet to take the 1-0 lead. It was the former first-rounder’s 10th home run of the year as he became the sixth M-Brave to reach double-digit home runs. Shea Langeliers followed with a single to left field to extend his on-base streak to 17 games.

Before the Shewmake home run, the club’s starting pitchers, Jack Lobaski and Spencer Strider traded zeros, including 4.0 no-hit innings by Strider.

Riley Unroe added to the lead in the top of the fifth with the first-ever inside-the-park home run from a visiting player at Riverwalk Stadium to extend the lead to 2-0. It was the first inside-the-parker since Alex Jackson did so on September 1, 2017, against Birmingham at Trustmark Park.

The Biscuits (50-41) responded in the bottom of the fifth as Ford Proctor recorded the first hit of the game with a solo home run to cut the lead 2-1. Seaver Whalen singled later in the inning and tried to take second on a wild pitch, only to be thrown out by Langeliers 64th assist, adding to his MILB lead.

Adrian De Horta (L, 1-2) started the top of the sixth inning in relief of Labosky, who went 5.0 innings with four hits, five strikeouts, and two earned runs.

Xavier Edwards began the bottom of the sixth inning with a jam shot double down the left-field line. Jonathan Aranda then plated Edwards with an RBI single to right field to tie the game at 2. Niko Hulsizer delivered an RBI single to score Aranda ending Strider’s night with two outs. Sean McLaughlin (W, 4-1) came in in relief after Strider went 5.2 innings, five hits, one walk, seven strikeouts, and three earned runs. McLaughlin retired the only batter he faced in the inning to escape the jam.

Drew Lugbauer opened the top of the seventh inning with a 435-foot solo home run that had a 106 mph exit velocity to tie the game at 3-3. Hendrik Clementina followed with a walk and took second on a wild pitch. Alexander delivered an opposite-field RBI single two batters later to give the M-Braves (55-37) back the lead 4-3.

Brooks Wilson (H, 5) relieved McLaughlin in the bottom of the eighth inning. McLaughlin was great in relief, retiring all four batters he faced, including two strikeouts. Wilson struck out two batters and did not allow a run in his one inning of relief.

The M-Braves added some insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Lugbauer led off the inning with a double to right-centerfield. Clementina then blasted a two-run home run to straightaway centerfield. Two batters later, Alexander doubled off the left-centerfield wall and advanced to third on a passed ball. A couple of batters later, Trey Harris laced an RBI single up the middle to extend the lead to 7-3.

The M-Braves have 24 hits in the first two games of the series with Shewmake, Lugbauer, and Alexander recording multi-hit performances on Wednesday.

The M-Braves will go for a sixth-straight road win on Thursday night at Riverwalk Stadium. LHP Hayden Deal (3-2, 3.94) will make the start for the M-Braves against RHP Jayden Murray (1-1, 2.82) for the Biscuits. The first pitch is 6:35 pm, with coverage on 103.9 WYAB, mississippibraves.com, and MiLB.tv.

The M-Braves will return to Trustmark Park for their penultimate homestand of the season, August 24-29, vs. Pensacola. The homestand features Bark in the Park, First Responders Day, Thirsty Thursday, a Drew Waters MVP Statue Giveaway, Fireworks, and Family Fun Day. For tickets or more information, fans should visit mississippibraves.com or call 888-BRAVES4. or call 888-BRAVES4.