Bryce Elder won his seventh game, and Wendell Rijo went 3-for-4 with a HR, and three RBI

Published 9:04 am Sunday, August 15, 2021

PEARL, MS – The Mississippi Braves matched the club record with their eighth straight win Saturday as they beat the Biloxi Shuckers 4-0. Bryce Elder (W, 7-1) won his seventh game to tie for the league lead in nine starts, and M-Braves pitchers combined to throw a four-hit shut out. Wendell Rijo went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI to lead the way offensively.

The current winning streak matches the streak set in 2016, taking eight straight over Pensacola and Mobile, August 3-12. Mississippi has outscored the opposition 45-9 over the streak and posted for shutouts. On Sunday, the Braves will go for a six-game sweep of Biloxi, three weeks after being swept by the same club, July 20-25.

The M-Braves wore special gold and navy blue jerseys on Saturday to salute pediatric cancer and Gold Glove Charities. Each player wore the name of a kid battling cancer.

The M-Braves (52-36) struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Trey Harris singled to right field with one out. A couple of batters later, Shea Langeliers walked, and Rijo followed with a two-out single to centerfield to put the M-Braves up 1-0.

The Shuckers (32-56) looked to respond in the top of the third inning as they loaded the bases. Elder then struck out the side to escape the jam.

David Hamilton tested Langeliers with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, catching his 26th baserunner of the year. Langeliers leads the minors at 26-for-58 this season.

Hendrik Clementina walked in the bottom of the fifth inning, and that ended the night for Biloxi starter Lucas Erceg (L, 0-5). Zack Brown relieved Erceg with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning. Erceg finished with 4.1 innings, two hits, three walks, two strikeouts, and two earned runs. Jacob Pearson greeted Brown with a line-drive single to extend his hitting streak to four, and a couple of batters later, Harris plated a run on a single to push the lead to 2-0.

After Elder’s fifth quality start, Sean McLaughlin (H, 3) opened the top of the seventh inning. Elder went 6.0 innings, three hits, nine strikeouts, and zero earned runs. Elder logged his fifth quality start and matched his M-Braves high with nine strikeouts. The former Texas Longhorn is now tied for first in minor league baseball with 101.0 innings pitched this season in 17 starts between Rome and Mississippi. McLaughlin did not allow a hit, walk, or earned run and added two strikeouts in his inning of relief.

Langeliers started a two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth inning with a walk, and Rijo followed with a two-run home run to left field to add some insurance runs and extend the lead to 4-0. The homer was Rijo’s 13th of the season. The Dominican Republic native has five hits in his last two games. Langeliers walked twice, but the former Baylor star did not extend his 13-game hitting streak on Saturday.

Brooks Wilson pitched the ninth inning for the M-Braves and recorded a perfect 1-2-3 inning, striking out the side.

The M-Braves will go for a club-record ninth-straight win on Sunday at Trustmark Park. In a rematch of game one, RHP Freddy Tarnok (2-0, 2.08) will start against Biloxi RHP Jesus Castillo (3-7, 5.52). The first pitch is 2:05 pm, with coverage on 103.9 WYAB, mississippibraves.com, and MiLB.tv.