BILOXI, Miss. (Interstat) — J.D. Thompson allowed one earned run over five innings and the Biloxi Shuckers hit three home runs in the first two innings, beating the visiting Pensacola Blue Wahoos 8-3 on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, at Keesler Federal Park to win the Double-A Southern League playoff series. Biloxi took the series 2-0 and advanced, improving to 66-67. Pensacola finished at 78-58. The game drew 4,133 and took 2 hours, 56 minutes.

Thompson, who is 2-4, gave up two hits, one earned run and struck out four for the win. Eliazar Dishmey, who is 7-3, took the loss for Pensacola. Stiven Cruz recorded his fifth save with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits. Jaron DeBerry pitched 1 2/3 innings for Biloxi and allowed two earned runs on three hits with one strikeout. Pensacola’s bullpen got scoreless appearances from Gabe Bierman, Jaydenn Estanista and Juan Reynoso. Bierman worked 1 1/3 innings with one hit and one strikeout, Estanista threw one inning with one hit, and Reynoso got two outs with one hit and one strikeout. Jack Sellinger allowed one earned run on one hit with two strikeouts in one inning.

Biloxi seized control immediately. Dylan O’Rae led off the bottom of the first with a single, and Jesús Made followed with a two-run homer to left-center. The Shuckers added four more in the second. Damon Keith singled before Matthew Wood hit a two-run homer to right-center. Mike Boeve walked, and Braylon Payne hit a two-run homer to right. That gave Biloxi a 6-0 lead. Made finished 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs, Wood went 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs, and Payne was 1-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs.

Pensacola tried to climb back. Ethan O’Donnell singled in the fifth and scored on Payton Green’s sacrifice fly. In the seventh, Jay Beshears walked, Green singled, and Fenwick Trimble singled in Beshears. Max Williams then singled in Green to make it 6-3. Biloxi answered in the bottom of the inning. Made singled, Josh Adamczewski walked, and Wood singled to right to score both runners, restoring the Shuckers’ five-run cushion.

Biloxi’s defense sealed the game in the ninth. After Green and Adrian Santana singled, Fenwick Trimble grounded into a double play from Jesús Made to Dylan O’Rae to Andrew Fischer. That ended Pensacola’s last threat and preserved Cruz’s save. The Blue Wahoos managed three runs despite eight hits, scoring once in the fifth and twice in the seventh. Biloxi’s bullpen kept Pensacola off the scoreboard over the final 2 1/3 innings. Pensacola finished with eight hits, while Biloxi had 10. Pensacola’s pitchers combined for 17 strikes, 48 balls and 17 balls in play. Biloxi’s staff combined for 15 strikes, 61 balls and 15 balls in play.

The Shuckers’ win completed a two-game sweep of the Double-A Southern League playoff series. The win came in Game 2 of the series. Biloxi won Game 1 on Sept. 15 at Pensacola, 6-3, then finished the series at home. The Blue Wahoos had won the regular-season series between the teams in August, but Biloxi carried the momentum from a decisive win in the opener into Thursday’s clincher. The Shuckers will next face Rocket City in a series beginning Sunday, Sept. 20.

Biloxi’s early power display proved the difference. The Shuckers scored six runs before Pensacola got on the board, and Thompson protected the lead with five steady innings. Wood’s four RBIs led Biloxi, while Made and Payne also delivered two-run homers. Cruz closed the final 2 1/3 innings to keep Pensacola from mounting a comeback.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Biloxi 6, Pensacola 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Pensacola with a 52 percent probability to win.