tenacious oyster

The Biloxi Shuckers’ logo is described in the club’s press notes as a “tenacious oyster,” which might be a bit of a P.R. stretch, but tenacious could certainly be used to describe the team. The Shuckers, playing their inaugural season, clinched the first-half championship in the Southern League South on Sunday — with six games left in the half — by whipping the second-place Mississippi Braves 9-0 at a subdued Trustmark Park. The Shuckers (39-24, best record in the league) won this title despite playing all but five of their 63 games to date on the road. MGM Park in Biloxi didn’t open until June 6. This team (the former Huntsville Stars) is no fluke. The Shuckers have nine players headed to next week’s SL All-Star Game. They feature a bunch of the Milwaukee Brewers’ top prospects, including the No. 1 (outfielder Tyrone Taylor, 3-for-5 with two RBIs on Sunday), the No. 2 (shortstop Orlando Arcia, 2-for-5, two RBIs), the No. 14 (outfielder Michael Reed, 2-for-5, RBI) and the No. 19 (ex-M-Braves outfielder Kyle Wren, 2-for-5, two runs). Starting pitcher Brooks Hall ain’t bad, either. The 6-foot-5 right-hander allowed just two hits over eight innings to run his record to 7-3. He beat Atlanta prospect Jason Hursh (2-5), who took a shutout into the sixth, when the Shuckers erupted for five runs. They scored three more in the seventh and tacked on another in the ninth, long after the M-Braves had raised the white flag. Tenacious, indeed.