Monthly Archives: August 2011

Marco Carrillo photo courtesy Roger C. Hoover

The Tennessee Smokies defeated the Jacksonville Suns for the fourth time in five games on Tuesday night by a score of 10-8. Marcus Hatley took the win for Tennessee, while Ramon Benjamin got the loss for the Suns after allowing four runs in only 2/3 innings pitched. The win gives the Smokies a four to one series win over Jacksonville in the final home series of the 2011 regular season.

Jacksonville got on board first in the top of the third inning when Jim Negrych singled home Kevin Mattison to take a 1-0 lead. Tennessee responded in the bottom of the fourth inning when David Macias singled home Steve Clevenger to tie the game at 1-1. Josh Vitters would then double with the bases loaded to clear the bases and make it a 4-1 ballgame in favor of the Smokies. The Suns got two runs back in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to 4-3 and added more in the seventh to take the lead. Marcus Hatley threw a wild pitch in the seventh with runners on second and third to score Jeremy Synan to tie the game and Negrych hit a sacrifice fly to give Jacksonville a 5-4 lead.

The Smokies blew the game open with six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Nelson Perez singled to score Clevenger to tie the game and Macias would reach on a fielding error to score Junior Lake and Nelson Perez to take a 7-5 advantage. Ty Wright came in and hit a pinch-hit double to score Macias and Vitters hit another single to score two more and put the Smokies up 10-5. The Suns added three more runs in the final two innings but that was as close as they would get. Jeff Stevens came in to pitch in the eighth and shut the door, tossing 1 1/3 innings and allowing zero runs to give Tennessee a 10-8 victory.

Tennessee will have an off day on Wednesday but will come back at it on Thursday to start the final series of the 2011 season down in Birmingham against the Barons. First pitch is set for 8:05 p.m. down in Birmingham on Thursday but you can join us on the Pilot/Oscar-Mayer Pregame Show at 7:45 p.m. for starting lineups and everything Smokies Baseball!

The Tennessee Smokies took down the Jacksonville Suns on Monday evening at Smokies Park by a score of 7-2. Trey McNutt earned the win, giving up only one run and six hits in six innings, while Jose Alvarez took the loss for the Suns, giving up four runs and seven hits in five innings pitched.

Jacksonville took the lead early in the top of the third inning when Jim Negrych singled home Neil Sellers from third base to give the Suns a 1-0 lead. Tennessee answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning with Rebel Ridling getting it started by roping a single to socer Jae-Hoon Ha and tie the game up. Josh Vitters then came to the plate and homered to bring Ridling home and take a 3-1 Smokies lead. Tennessee added another run to their lead in the fourth when RHP Trey McNutt hit his first home run of the season and improve the lead to 4-1.

Tennessee added insurance to their lead in the sixth after Steve Clevenger singled, Nate Samson hit a two-run blast to make it a 6-1 ballgame. They would get their final run in the bottom of the eighth when Jonathan Mota singled home Vitters to put the lead at 7-1 and Jacksonville got that run back in the top of the ninth but 7-2 was as close as they would get. Jeff Beliveu shut the door, tossing two innings and only giving up one run to end the game.

Game Five of this series takes place on Tuesday evening, with the first pitch set for 7:15 at Smokies Park. Join us on the Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show at 7:00 p.m. for starting lineups and everything Smokies Baseball!

Brad Hand photo courtesy Roger C. Hoover

Tennessee saw its two game winning streak to the Jacksonville Suns snapped on Sunday evening after losing at Smokies Park 6-2. Ryan Searle took the loss for the Smokies, allowing six runs on ten hits in 5 2/3 innings, while Brad Hand recording the victory for the Suns after pitching 5 2/3 innings of shutout baseball.

The Suns took the lead in the top of the third inning and never looked back after LHP Brad Hand led off the inning with a solo home run. Kevin Mattison followed up with a triple to left field and would score on a Jim Negrych sacrifice fly to put Jacksonville ahead 2-0. The Suns added four runs to their lead in the top of the sixth after a leadoff ground-rule double by Ben Lasater. Brad Hand would single to score Lasater and Ryan Curry before Jeremy Synan tripled to score Hand to go up 5-0. Negrych singled in the next at bat to score Synan to give Jacksonville a 6-0 advantage.

In the bottom of the eighth the Smokies scored their only two runs when Blake Lalli walked and Rebel Ridling doubled to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Josh Vitters grounded out to score Lalli and Nate Samson then singled to score Ridling to make it a 6-2 ballgame. Jeff Allison came in and shut the door in the ninth inning for the Suns, tossing 1 1/3 IP and giving up zero runs.

Tennessee will look to rebound in Game Four of the five game series on Monday night, with the first pitch set for 7:15 p.m. You can join us on the Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show at 7:00 p.m. for starting lineups and everything Smokies Baseball!

Ty Wright photo courtesy Roger C. Hoover

Tennessee downed the Suns for the second straight night, take game two 5-4 at Smokies Park on Saturday night. Kevin Rhoderick got the win for the Smokies to improve to 7-0 on the year and Bryan Evans got the loss for Jacksonville, allowing five runs in 5 1/3 innings. The Smokies took the lead in the bottom of the second after Jae-Hoon Ha singled to score Jim Adduci and Rebel Ridling came up in the next at bat to sacrifice home Jonathan Mota and make it a 2-0 ballgame.

Jacksonville got a run back in the top of the third on a wild pitch by Eric Jokisch to score Paul Gran and cut it to 2-1. The game was tied up in the top of the sixth when Kyle Jensen singled home Kevin Mattison to tie it up at 2-2. Tennessee responded with a three run sixth inning after Ty Wright hit a pinch hit double with the bases loaded to score two runs and put the Smokies up 4-2. They added another run later in the inning when Mota grounded out to score David Macias and put their lead ad 5-2. Jacksonville added two runs in the eighth to cut the lead to 5-4 but that was as close as they would get. Rafael Dolis came in and shut the door, tossing 1 1/3 innings and earning his sixteenth save of the season.

Game Three of this five game series takes place on Sunday with first pitch set for 5:00 p.m. Join us on the Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show at 4:45 p.m. for starting lineups and everything Smokies Baseball!

K to end 7th

Wright 2-RBI double

Ridling

Ha RBI-Single 1-0

Brooks Raley photo courtesy Roger C. Hoover

The Tennessee Smokies defeated the Jacksonville Suns 7-5 in Game One of their five game series at Smokies Park on Friday night. Brooks Raley took the win for Tennessee, tossing five innings and allowing only one run, while Joey O’Gara was credited with the loss for the Suns, allowing four funs in six innings pitched.

Tennessee took the lead in the bottom of the third when Jim Adduci grounded out to score Junior Lake and Jae-Hoon Ha singled to score Jonathan Mota to go up 2-0. They would add another run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Steve Clevenger to score Blake Lalli and go ahead 3-0. Both teams put up a run in the fifth to make the score 4-1 but then Jacksonville put up two runs in the seventh to cut the lead to one. The Smokies would answer in the bottom of the seventh when Jonathan Mota smacked a two run homer to increase their lead to 6-3 and Lalli would hit a sacrifice fly to score Nate Samson and make it 7-3. The Suns tried to rally in the ninth but could only score two runs on Marcus Hatley. Rafael Dolis then came in to finish the game and seal the deal with a 7-5 victory.

Game Two of this five game series is set for Saturday evening, with the first pitch coming at 6:15 p.m. Join us on the Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show at 6:00 p.m. for starting lineups and everything Smokies Baseball!

Alex Castellanos photo courtesy Roger C. Hoover

The Tennessee Smokies dropped the rubber match game to the Chattanooga Lookouts 10-4 at Smokies Park on Thursday night to lose the series. The loss puts the Smokies 2 1/2 games behind the Lookouts for first place in the North Division with only ten games to play in the regular season. Larry Suarez took the loss for Tennessee, allowing five runs in 2 2/3 innings pitched, while Allen Webster earnedthe win for Chattanooga after giving up three runs in five innings.

Chattanooga got on the board in the top of the first when after back to back walks, Alex Castellanos would double to score Alfredo Silverio to go up 1-0. Hector Gimenez would then ground out to score Jake Lemmerman to take a 2-0 lead. Jae-Hoon Ha came up in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead in half with a solo home run and make it a 2-1 game. The Lookouts added three runs to their lead in the third after Travis Denker grounded into a double play to score Castellanos. Matt Wallach then came up a singled home two runs to put Chattanooga ahead 5-1.

Jae-Hoon Ha got his second rbi of the night in the bottom of the third when he doubled home Jim Adduci to cut the lead to 5-2. Ridling would double home Ha in the fifth to cut the lead to 5-3 but that would be as close as their would get. The Lookouts added three more runs in the sixth and seventh inning and Josh Vitters would ground out to score Adduci in the bottom of the seventh inning to make it a 8-3 game but that was the last time the Smokies would score in the ballgame. Chattanooga scored a run in the eighth and a run in the ninth and would end up winning 10-4.

The Smokies open a five game series against the Jacksonville Suns on Friday evening with first pitch set for 7:15 p.m. Join us on the Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show at 7:00 for starting lineups and everything Smokies Baseball!

Castellanos RBI Double 1-0

Ha Homerun 2-1

Wallach 2-Run hit 5-1

Ridling Double 5-3

Jae-Hoon Ha photo courtesy Roger C. Hoover

The Tennessee Smokies bounced back from Tuesday night’s loss to defeat the Lookouts 8-3 on Wednesday night at Smokies Park. The win moves the Smokies back to 1 1/2 games behind Chattanooga for first place in the North Division. Trey McNutt earned the win for Tennessee, pitching six innings and giving up only three runs, while Will Savage took the loss for the Lookouts, giving up six runs in five innings pitched.

Tennessee scored early and often when they got the game started when Rebel Ridling sacrificed home Jim Adduci to go up 1-0. They added another run in the next at bat when Josh Vitters sacrificed Jae-Hoon Ha from third to take a 2-0 lead. The Smokies added another run in the third when Nate Samson tripled and would come home on a Jonathan Mota groundout. Chattanooga got a run back in the third when Alfredo Silverio tripled to score Elian Herrera to make it a 3-1 ballgame. Rebel Ridling would get that run back for the Smokies in the bottom of the inning when he singled home Ha to take a 4-1 lead.

Mota would lead off the fourth with a homer to take a 5-1 lead and Steve Clevenger would ground into a double play to score Ridling and make it a 6-1 advantage for Tennessee. The Lookouts added two runs in the sixth to cut the lead to 6-3 but the Smokies held their ground with two runs in the seventh. Rebel Ridling walked and with one out Clevenger came up and smashed a two run homer to go up 8-3 and that was all that they would need. Kevin Rhoderick came in and threw two scoreless innings and Rafael Dolis pitched a perfect ninth inning to seal the deal for Tennessee.

The rubber match of this five game series is set for Thursday night at 7:15 p.m. You can join us on the Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show at 7:00 p.m. for starting lineups and everything Smokies Baseball!

Rebel Ridling photo courtesy Roger C. Hoover

The Chattanooga Lookouts downed the Smokies by a score of 6-4 on Tuesday night at Smokies Park, giving the Lookouts a 2 1/2 game lead in the North Division over Tennessee. Andrew Cashner took the loss in a spot start tonight, pitching only 2/3 innings and giving up two runs, while Chris Withrow got the win for the Lookouts after tossing five innings and only giving up two runs.

Chattanooga took the lead in the top of the first inning when Hector Gimenez singled to score Alex Castellanos from second and go up 1-0. The Lookouts then added another run in the next at bat when Scott Van Slyke singled home Gimenez from second base to take a 2-0 lead. Their lead was padded in the fourth when Jake Lemmerman singled with runners on second and third to increase their lead to 4-0. Van Slyke added another run for Chattanooga in the fifth on a single to left to score Castellanos and make it a 5-0 game. The Smokies finally got on the board in the bottom of the inning with a Rebel Ridling single to score David Macias and Jeff Stevens to cut the lead to 5-2.

The Chattanooga lead was cut to two when Ridling grounded out in the seventh to score Junior Lake from third and make it a 5-3 ballgame. The Lookouts got that run back in the eighth inning when Hector Gimenez grounded out to score Lemmerman and increase the lead to 6-3. Tennessee responded with a run in the bottom of the inning with a pinch hit single by Ty Wright to score Steve Clevenger from second but 6-4 was as close as the Smokies would get. Shawn Tolleson came in for the Lookouts in the ninth and shut the door on Tennessee to earn his eleventh save of the year.

Game four of this five game will take place on Wednesday evening with the first pitch set for 7:15 p.m. Join us on the Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show at 7:00 p.m. for starting lineups and everything Smokies Baseball!

Rebel Ridling photo courtesy Roger C. Hoover

Tennessee broke out the bats in game two against the Chattanooga Lookouts to defeat the Lookouts 9-2 at Smokies Park on Monday night. Eric Jokisch got his first win for the Smokies, tossing six innings and only giving up one run, while Michael Antonini took the loss after giving up six runs and eleven hits in just five innings. The win moves Tennessee back to only 1 1/2 games behind Chattanooga in the North Division Second Half Standings.

The game was scoreless until the fifth inning when the Lookouts got on the board first. Alfredo Silvario came up with Brian Cavazos-Galvez on second and would single him home to take the lead 1-0. The Smokies responded with six runs in the bottom of the inning to break the game open. Jae-Hoon Ha smacked a one out single with two runners on, scoring Adduci from second base and tying the game up at 1-1. Rebel Ridling would follow up with a three-run blast over the wall to put the Smokies ahead 4-1 and they would never look back. Josh Vitters was hit by a pitch and Blake Lalli walked before Nate Samson singled both runners home to increase their lead to 6-1.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lalli would come up and add two more insurance runs for Tennessee. Lalli singled with the bases loaded to score Adduci and Ridling, but Vitters would get thrown out at third to end the inning at 8-1. Chattanooga got one run back in the top of the eighth after Kyle Russell grounded out to score Silverio and make it a 8-2 ballgame. The Smokies score their final run in the bottom of the inning on a Ridling RBI single to score Ha from second and give Tennessee a 9-2 advantage.

Game Three of this five game series is set for Tuesday night with first pitch at 7:15 p.m. You can join us on the Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show at 7:00 p.m. for starting lineups and everything Smokies Baseball!

Ha out at the plate

Silverio RBI 1-0

Ridling HR 4-1

Lalli 2-RBI Single 8-1

Marco Carillo photo courtesy Roger C. Hoover

The Smokies were down in extras in game one of this five game series against the Chattanooga Lookouts by a score of 3-2 on Sunday evening. Scott Van Slyke hit a solo homerun in the top of the eleventh to give the Lookouts a 3-2 victory and a 2 1/2 game lead in the Southern League North Division in the second half. Scott Rice got the win for Chattanooga, tossing a perfect tenth inning, while Marco Carrillo got the loss for Tennessee after giving up the home run to Van Slyke in the eleventh.

Tennessee got on board first when Jae-Hoon Ha singled with one out and stole second base in the first inning. Rebel Ridling came up to bat and singled home Ha to go up 1-0. The Smokies added another run in the second after Jonathan Mota grounded into a force out at second to score Junior Lake from third and increase the lead to 2-0. The Lookouts scored their first run in the top of the fifth when Alfredo Silverio doubled home Brian Cavazos-Galvez from second to cut the lead to 2-1. Chattanooga would tie it up in the sixth inning when Travis Denker would hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Alex Castellanos from third and even the score at 2-2.

The ballgame would remain scoreless for four innings until the top of the eleventh when Scott Van Slyke would hit a solo homerun to give the Lookouts a 3-2 lead. Tennessee was shut down in the bottom of the inning to end the game and give the Lookouts the victory. Game two of this five game series will take place Monday evening with first pitch set for 7:15 p.m. You can join us on the Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show at 7:00 p.m. for starting lineups and everything Smokies Baseball!