Monsters Down Bucks for Two Straight on the Road

BROOKHAVEN, Ga. - Choccolocco swept the midweek series against the Brookhaven Bucks 11-4 and 5-3 on Monday and Wednesday night. The two road victories not only secured the Monsters’ first consecutive win streak, but also drew them closer to a potential Wild Card berth.  

Game One: Choccolocco 11, Brookhaven 4 

The Monsters wasted no time getting out to an early lead in their first ever trip to Brookhaven, Ga. Nate Shipley began what would be a five RBI night for him with a first inning, three-run blast over the left field wall. Shipley’s second big fly of the year brought home Josh Cooper and Jelani Howard to make the score 3-0. Three runs split across the second and third innings for Brookhaven would even the match, however.  

With the ballgame still tied 3-3 in the fourth, two runs on three hits for the Monsters would give them the edge once again. Dominic Scavone sent a frozen rope over wall in the left to lead off the inning, marking his first homerun of the season. A Brant Deerman single and subsequent hit by pitch to William Kelley gave Jackson Sweatt an RBI opportunity upon which he capitalized, driving in Deerman on a single to left field.  

Insurance Runs came in bunches in the ninth inning. Leading by two, Choccolocco ambushed the Brookhaven closer, plating five runs on six hits to bury the Bucks in the final frame. In his first at-bat after almost two weeks off, Dawson Winningham delivered a pinch-hit, two RBI single to right field. With Winningham on second and Cooper on first, Nate Shipley would then find the right-center field gap for a two-RBI triple. The one through five batters of Cooper, Howard, Shipley, Scavone, and Deerman went a combined 11-for-22 with seven RBIs and eight runs scored.  

Right-hander Daniel Swatek was the opener for manager Steve Gillispie, tossing 4.1 innings, giving up four earned runs while striking out five. AJ Jarrell was the pitcher of record, earning the win after giving the Monsters 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. Austin Goode entered in the eighth inning and recorded a four-out save. The trio combined for 15 strikeouts on the day.  

Game Two: Choccolocco 5, Brookhaven 3 

The Monsters took a little longer to get settled into Wednesday night's game, as they were held scoreless up until the sixth inning. Trailing 2-0, singles from Jelani Howard and Nate Shipley followed by a hit by pitch to Dominic Scavone led to a two-out RBI single from Brant Deerman to tie the game.  

Then, down 3-2 entering the top of the ninth inning, veteran Brennan McCullough would grind a lead-off walk to put the tying run on-base. A groundout and a strikeout would bring Winningham up with two outs, and he too would work a walk. William Kelley and Austin Embrey would clutch-up and send two singles up the middle to score the games tying and tie-breaking runs.   

Weston Kirk picked up the win after entering the game in the eighth inning and throwing up two zeros to finish the game.  

The Monster’s return home this coming Friday and Saturday to take on the Gwinnett Astros. The first pitch on Friday is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. EDT (7:05 p.m. CDT).