Stevens Hits Walkoff Homer In the 13th While Cunningham And Drury Stay Hot In Wednesday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Bobby Stevens hit a walkoff homer in the 13th for Mississippi, Todd Cunningham and Brandon Drury stayed hot, and Gary Moran had a great start.

Gwinnett Braves - Off

The G-Braves begin a 4 game series with the Syracuse Chiefs on Thursday. Sean Gilmartin is scheduled to start the opener.

Mississippi Braves

• Todd Cunningham CF 2-5, BB, SB (22), .315 AVG
• Keenan Wiley RF 2-6, RBI, .245 AVG
• Bobby Stevens PH 1-1, HR (1), 2 RBI, .182
  
• Gary Moran 7 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 8 K, 2.97 ERA
• Erik Cordier 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 15.43 ERA
• Mark Lamm 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 4.04 ERA
• Cory Rasmus 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.81 ERA
• Billy Bullock 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 3 K, W (1), 3.65 ERA

Bobby Stevens hit a pinch hit, 2 run homer in the bottom of the 13th to give Mississppi the walkoff victory. It's a great highlight in a strange year that has seen Stevens play for 5 different teams at 3 different levels in 2 different organizations. Todd Cunningham reached base 3 times and picked up his fourth steal in his last 3 games. He extended his hitting streak to 6 games, going 10-29 with a double and 2 walks in that stretch. Gary Moran started the game and was outstanding, allowing only 1 unearned run while striking out 8 over 7 innings. A good first half that saw him post a 3.22 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP in 72.2 innings earned him an All-Star nod, but he's been a little better in the second half, with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP in 76 innings. In his last 2 appearances, Mark Lamm has struck out 7 in 4.2 scoreless innings. Billy Bullock picked up his first win of the season with 2 scoreless innings. The 24 year old righty has struck out 8 in 5.1 scoreless innings in his last 3 appearances.

Zeke Spruill will start the series finale on Thursday.

Lynchburg Hillcats 2, Winston-Salem Dash 7, 11 innings

• Michael Spina DH 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, .203 AVG
  
• Aaron Northcraft 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 4.06 ERA
• Ryne Harper 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 2.01 ERA
  

Aaron Northcraft struggled mightily in his last start, allowing 0 runs, 7 earned, in just 1.1 innings of work, but he came back strong tonight, striking out 6 in 6 innings while allowing just 1 earned run. He leads the Carolina League with 152 strikeouts in 139.2 innings. Ryne Harper tossed 2 scoreless innings, and he has struck out 15 in 13.2 scoreless innings over his last 7 appearances. Mike Spina had one of Lynchburg's 2 hits on the night, his first homer with the team. He struggled with AA Midland this year, hitting just .176 with a .573 OPS in 256 at bats before his release, and he's continued to struggle with the Hillcats, hitting .203 with a .668 OPS in 59 at bats.

Lynchburg won the first half, and they're currently 2 games back with 11 games to go. Dimasther Delgado will start the series finale tomorrow.

Rome Braves 6, Hickory Crawdads 4

• Ross Heffley 2B 2-5, 2B, .282 AVG
• Kyle Kubitza 3B 1-3, RBI, BB, .241 AVG
• Brandon Drury 1B 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI, .236 AVG
• Fernando de los Santos SS 2-4, HR (7), RBI, .237 AVG
• Fabian Williamson 5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 7 K, 3.47 ERA
• Ian Thomas 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K, W (5), 2.81 ERA

Brandon Drury had a 2 hit, 2 RBI day that included a triple, and in his his last 2 games he's gone 5-7 with 3 RBI. After an abysmal first half that saw him hit .187 with a .495 OPS, 14 doubles, 2 homers, and 21 RBI in 241 at bats, he's done a 180 in the second half, hitting .303 with a .770 OPS, 6 doubles, 3 triples, 3 homers, and 28 RBI in 175 at bats. In his last 10 games, Ross Heffley is hitting .281 with a .831 OPS, a double, a homer, and 3 RBI. After struggling in July, hitting .156 with a .525 OPS and 28 strikeouts in 90 at bats, Kyle Kubitza has rebounded nicely in August, hitting .290 with a .789 OPS and 6 doubles in 62 at bats. Ian Thomas picked up the win with 3 scoreless innings of relief. The 25 year old lefty, playing in affiliated professional baseball for the first time, has been great this year, with a 2.81 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, 11.7 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 4.2 K/BB in 41.2 innings over 23 appearances.

The R-Braves are 3.5 games ahead of Asheville with 11 games to go. Rome will begin a 4 game series in Savannah tomorrow, with David Starn scheduled to start the opener.

Danville Braves 5, Princeton Rays 7

• Levi Hyams 2B 3-5, 2 2B, SB (7), .239 AVG
• Trenton Moses 3B 2-5, RBI, E (7), .305 AVG
• Blake Brown CF 1-3, HR (4), RBI, BB, .205 AVG
• Felix Marte RF 2-4, HR (8), RBI, .278 AVG
• Frank Lafreniere 7 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 1 K, 3.77 ERA

Levi Hyams hit a pair of doubles as part of a 3 hit day, and in his last 5 games, he's gone 7-19 with 3 RBI and 2 walks. Blake Brown hit his third homer of the year, making him 3-10 with a walk in his last 3 games. Felix Marte was 2-30 in his last 9 games, but he went 2-4 today, clubbing out his eighth homer of the season. Frank Lafreniere allowed 4 runs, but only 2 of them were earned, and in his last 2 starts he has allowed 2 earned runs in 11 innings, walking 5 and striking out 4.

With 6 games remaining in their season, Danville is 4 games behind Burlington for the division lead and 2 games ahead of Princeton for the second playoff spot. Tomorrow, the D-Braves begin a 3 game series against the Greeneville Drive, with Eduardo Castillo scheduled to start the opener.

GCL Braves 4, GCL Blue Jays 1

• Tommy La Stella 2B 0-2, BB, .250 AVG
• Tyler Tewell C 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, .312 AVG
• Joey Meneses DH 2-4, 2 RBI, .304 AVG
• Anthony Nunez 1B 1-2, BB, .275 AVG
• Jorge Montenegro 4.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 4.89 ERA
• Donovan Drake 4.1 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K, W (2), 1.42 ERA

Tommy La Stella went 0-2 with a walk in his second rehab game, making him 1-4 with a homer and 2 RBI overall. In his last 10 games, Tyler Tewell is hitting .407 with a 1.083 OPS, 3 doubles, a triple, a homer, and 8 RBI. Joey Meneses drove in 2 runs and rapped out 2 hits, extending his hitting streak to 6 games. During that span, the 20 year old Mexican has gone 8-26 with a double and 2 RBI. Anthony Nunez is 3-6 with 2 RBI in his last 2 games. Jorge Montenegro struck out 5 while allowing 1 run over 4.2 innings. In 20.1 innings in 11 relief appearances, the 21 year old Panamanian righty has a 5.75 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP, and in 14.2 innings in 4 starts he has a 3.68 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. In 25.1 innings over 11 relief appearances, 23 year old righty Donovan Drake has a 1.42 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.

The Braves and Blue Jays will play again Thursday afternoon.