by Hunter Dawkins, Owner/Publisher – editor@thegazebogazette.com or hdawkins@supertalk.fm

BILOXI (GG) — Saturday, May 23 belonged to the Biloxi Shuckers (21-21), who overcame a 6-4 deficit in the resumption of Thursday’s game to win 7-6, and stormed to a lead in Saturday’s second game, earning a 7-4 win over the Birmingham Barons (16-27) at Keesler Federal Park. The Shuckers extended their win streak to four consecutive, the longest of the season. MLB #1 Prospect Jesús Made extended his RBI streak to nine consecutive games, which tied for the longest streak in franchise history.

In game one, the Shuckers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, with an RBI-double by Blake Burke in the first, and the sixth home run of the season for Darrien Miller in the second. The Barons erased that deficit with three unanswered dingers, with Jason Matthews getting one out in the third, and Alec Makarewicz mashing a pair in the fourth and sixth innings to give Birmingham a 3-2 lead.

Miller hit his seventh with a econd home run of the contest to level things at 3.

The two teams would remain scoreless the next two frames, before the Barons and Shuckers each scored a run in the 10th, after an Anthony DePino RBI-single in the road half and a Jesús Made RBI-base hit to even the game at 4.

In the 11th, Jason Matthews laid down a bunt single, which eventually drove Drake Logan home on an error by Blake Burke, followed immediately by a home run from Jordan Sprinkle. A suspension with one out in the 11th inning took place and was resumed over 43 hours later on Saturday.

The first two batters for Biloxi were retired in the home half until Jheremy Vargas picked up an infield single, Dylan O’Rae scored the automatic runner Darrien Miller on a base hit to bring the game within one, and Jesús Made delivered the dagger with a 2-RBI hit for his second walk-off knock in three games.

Anthony Flores (3-1) earned the win for the Shuckers while Phil Fox (0-1) took the loss.

In game two, the Shuckers stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the first with back-to-back home runs from Jesús Made and Blake Burke, and an RBI single from Eduardo Garcia. The Barons got on the board in the second with a solo home run from Anthony DePino.

In the fourth, the Shuckers made it 7-1 with an RBI single from Blake Burke, a wild pitch that scored Jesús Made from third and a sacrifice fly from Mike Boeve. The Barons clawed back with a solo home run from Jason Matthews in the fifth and RBI singles from Alec Makarewicz and Calvin Harris in the eighth.

Jaron DeBerry (3-3) earned the win and tied his career-high with 7.0 innings, becoming the second player in franchise history to go at least 6.0 innings with 8+ strikeouts in three consecutive starts. DeBerry joined Brandon Woodruff, who accomplished the feat between July 13-29, 2016.

Cameron Wagoner also recorded his first career save with a 10-pitch ninth inning, including three strikeouts. Wagoner also became the first Shuckers pitcher this season to reach 100.0 MPH.

Photo by Shuckers Baseball, LLC