M-Braves stop slide

Published 10:35 am Monday, July 21, 2014

The Mississippi Braves couldn’t wait to get rolling Sunday night and stop their losing ways.

Jose Peraza went 3-for-5 with an RBI triple and two runs scored, Kyle Wren doubled twice and drove in two runs, and the M-Braves used a fast start to beat the Birmingham Barons 5-1 in the finale of a five-game series in Birmingham.

The M-Braves scored once in the first inning, then three times in the third to jump out to a 4-0 lead. Mitch Akins took over from there, throwing a complete game as Mississippi snapped a three-game losing streak.

Mitch Akins

Mitch Akins

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The M-Braves had lost six of seven overall coming into Sunday’s game.

Akins (5-0) allowed five hits, no walks, and struck out six in his best outing since being demoted to Double-A in early June. It was the first time in five starts that he’s allowed less than three runs. The effort dropped Akins’ earned run average half a point, from 4.11 to 3.61.

M-Braves catcher Braeden Schlehuber also went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored, as the Nos. 9, 1 and 2 hitters did most of the offensive damage.

Peraza, the leadoff hitter, singled to start the game, stole second, and scored on Wren’s double to right field. In the third inning, Schlehuber led off with a single and scored on Peraza’s triple.

Peraza then came around on Wren’s second RBI double of the game, and Wren in turn scored on a single by Rich Poythress to give the M-Braves a 4-0 lead.

Kyle Kubitza added an RBI single in the eighth inning to make it 5-1. Birmingham’s run came on a solo homer by Rangel Ravelo leading off the seventh.

The M-Braves’ losing streak dropped them out of first place in the Southern League South Division standings. They’re now in third place, four games behind Mobile, as they a five-game road series at Tennessee tonight at 6:15 p.m.