Smokies infielder Jonathan Mota won a Florida State League championship in 2008 with the Daytona Cubs. Photo Courtesy: Roger C. Hoover
Hundreds of games a year, thousands of miles traveled sometimes causes games and seasons to run together. Five current Tennessee Smokies, Ty Wright, Marcus Hatley, Justin Bour, Jonathan Mota, and Tim Torres, spoke about their favorite baseball memory thus far in their careers.
AUDIO FEATURE
Filed under 2013 Smokies Feature
The Smokies have reeled off six wins in their last seven games after a 4-3 win Friday night in Chattanooga. Photo Courtesy: Roger C. Hoover
The Tennessee Smokies scored four times in the second inning and it proved to be enough as they won the series opener over the Chattanooga Lookouts 4-3. Tennessee has now won six of their last seven games.
The Lookouts had the tying run on third base with two outs in the bottom of the 9th but Zach Rosscup struck out Chris Jacobs to end the game.
Kyle Hendricks (3-2) earned his second straight win pitching seven strong innings yielding three runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Zach Lee (3-3) suffered the loss for Chattanooga surrendering four runs on five hits in five innings of work. Rosscup came on in the 9th inning and recorded his first save of the season.
Tennessee (21-19) sent nine batters to the plate against Lee in their four-run second inning. After Ty Wright and Rafael Lopez reached to start the inning, Christian Villanueva hit an RBI double for the game’s first run. Rubi Silva then reached on a third strike in the dirt and Lopez scored from third base to double the lead. Then with two outs and the bases loaded, Ronald Torreyes delivered a two-run single to left field for a 4-0 Smokies lead.
Chattanooga (16-25) got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the 4th inning. Joc Pederson reached on a one-out single and came around to score on Yasiel Puig’s RBI double to cut the deficit to 4-1.
The Lookouts closed within a run in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a towering two-run home run by Jacobs, his third of the season, to make it 4-3.
The Smokies and Lookouts will continue their five-game series tomorrow night at 7:15 ET when Tennessee sends right-hander Dallas Beeler (3-1, 3.14) to the mound against Chattanooga lefty Chris Reed (1-4, 5.49) at AT&T Field.
The Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show with studio hosts Danny Will and Michael Wottreng begins at 7:00 p.m on our flagship station, The Sports Animal WNML AM 990 and in progress on FM 99.1 in Knoxville. You can always listen to the broadcast in it’s entirely on smokiesbaseball.com as well as the Smokies mobile app. To listen online, click here. Mick Gillispie will have the first pitch from Chattanooga at 7:15 p.m.
AUDIO RECAP: SMOKIES 4 Lookouts 3
Danny Will is a Senior Broadcast Assistant for the Smokies Radio Network. You can follow Danny on Twitter here: @DannyWillSays
Filed under Game Recap
Ty Wright blasted his first two home runs of the year for Tennessee driving in four runs. Photo Courtesy: John Shadrick
Ty Wright hit his first two home runs of the season as the Tennessee Smokies took the finale of their five-game series over the Jackson Generals 6-4 at Generals Park. The Smokies took four of five games in Jackson and are now 5.5 games back of first place Birmingham.
Tennessee (20-19) wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Ty Wright launched a two-run home run in the top of the 1st, his first of the season, for a 2-0 lead.
Jackson (16-22) battled right back to tie the game with two runs in the bottom of the first. Vinnie Catricala beat out an infield single that scored Leon Landry and John Hicks scored on a Rafael Lopez passed ball to even up the contest at 2-2.
Wright connected with his second two-run home run of the game in the top of the 3rd inning to give the Smokies the lead back at 4-2. It’s the first time in his minor league career that Wright has had a multi-home run game.
The Generals were able to rally back again to tie the game with a run in the 3rd and the 4th. Catricala hit a solo home run, his first of the season in the 3rd and James Jones scored on an RBI groundout by Landry in the 4th to tie the game at 4-4.
Smokies starter Matt Loosen left after four innings of work and didn’t factor in the decision. He allowed four runs on three hits and a season-high six walks.
A two-out rally for the Smokies in the 6th inning put them back in front. Lopez brought in Christian Villanueva with an RBI double and Jonathan Mota scored on a Forrest Snow wild pitch to push the Smokies lead to 6-4.
A.J. Morris (2-0) pitched three perfect innings out of the bullpen to earn the victory for the Smokies. Snow (1-5) suffered the loss allowing two runs in two innings.
The Smokies will begin a series with the Chattanooga Lookouts tomorrow night at7:15 when Tennessee sends right-hander Kyle Hendricks (2-2, 2.63) to the mound against Chattanooga righty Zach Lee (3-2, 2.61) at AT&T Field.
The Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show with studio hosts Danny Will and Michael Wottreng begins at 7:00 p.m on our flagship station, The Sports Animal WNML AM 990 and in progress on FM 99.1 in Knoxville. You can always listen to the broadcast in it’s entirely on smokiesbaseball.com as well as the Smokies mobile app. To listen online, click here. Mick Gillispie will have the first pitch from Chattanooga at 7:15 p.m.
AUDIO RECAP: SMOKIES 6 Generals 4
Danny Will is a Senior Broadcast Assistant for the Smokies Radio Network. You can follow Danny on Twitter here: @DannyWillSays
Filed under Game Recap
Arismendy Alcantara went 2-for-3 with a run scored in Wednesday’s game. Photo Courtesy: Roger C. Hoover
Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the 8th, the Jackson Generals sent nine batters to plate and scored six times to shock the Tennessee Smokies by the final score of 8-4. The loss snaps the Smokies four-game winning streak.
With reliever Trey McNutt on the mound, the Generals began their rally. Patrick Brady and Leon Landry led off with back-to-back singles and were sacrificed into scoring position by Gabriel Noriega. Then after Brian Schlitter came out of the pen, Brad Miller tied the game at 4-4 with a two-run single to left field. Vinnie Catricala singled Miller over to third base and both came into score on a two-run triple by Julio Morban. Two errors by catcher Jay Fernandez allowed the final two runs of the inning to score and cap off the six-run rally for the Generals.
Smokies starter Eric Jokisch was in line for the win before the lead was lost. He allowed two runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings. Jokisch has now gone four starts without a victory. Tyler Burgoon (1-1) earned his first win of the season out of the bullpen for Jackson while Schlitter (0-2) suffered the loss for Tennessee.
Fernandez put the Smokies on top in the 2nd inning with his first home run of the season, a two-run shot, to make it 2-0.
Jackson (16-21) battled back to tie things at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Miller walked and moved over to third base on Catricala’s double. Morban then tied the game with a two-run single into center field.
Tennessee (19-19) regained the lead in the top of the 5th courtesy of some Jackson mishaps. Jonathan Mota scored from third base on a wild pitch from starter Brett Shankin to put the Smokies back on top 3-2. Mota reached to begin the inning on an error by Catricala at third base.
Christian Villanueva doubled the Smokies advantage to 4-2 in the 6th inning with an RBI single that scored Arismendy Alcantara. The hit extends Villanueva’s hitting streak to eight games.
The Smokies and Generals will finish their five-game series tomorrow night at 8:05 ET when Tennessee sends right-hander Matt Loosen (1-1, 8.04) to the mound against Jackson lefty Anthony Fernandez (1-0, 9.45) at Generals Park.
The Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show with studio hosts Danny Will and Michael Wottreng begins at 7:45 p.m on our flagship station, The Sports Animal WNML AM 990 and FM 99.1 in Knoxville. You can always listen to the broadcast in it’s entirely on smokiesbaseball.com as well as the Smokies mobile app. To listen online, click here. Mick Gillispie will have the first pitch from Jackson at 8:05 p.m.
AUDIO RECAP: GENERALS 8 Smokies 4
Danny Will is a Senior Broadcast Assistant for the Smokies Radio Network. You can follow Danny on Twitter here: @DannyWillSays
Filed under Game Recap
Arismendy Alcantara shocked the stadium with a two-out drag bunt to put the Smokies ahead for good. Photo Courtesy: John Shadrick
Arismendy Alcantara delivered the go-ahead RBI bunt single in the top of the 10th inning as the Tennessee Smokies assured themselves a series victory with a 3-2 win over the Jackson Generals. The win puts the Smokies back over .500 at 19-18.
With two outs in the top of the 10th, Alcantara beat out a drag bunt for a hit and it brought home Tim Torres from third to give the Smokies a 3-2 lead. Tennessee has now won four straight games, one short of their longest winning streak this season.
The Smokies carried a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the 9th but couldn’t close it out. James Jones tripled off Tennessee reliever Zach Rosscup to score Brad Miller and tie up the game. Rosscup escaped further damage striking out the final two batters of the inning to send the game to extras.
Both starters pitched effectively but received no decisions. Alberto Cabrera had his longest outing of the season for the Smokies pitching seven innings surrendering only one run on five hits with seven strikeouts. Jackson starter Taijuan Walker also pitched seven innings allowing two runs, one of them earned, on four hits with seven strikeouts.
For the first time in the series, Jackson (15-21) jumped on the board first with a run in the bottom of the first. Leon Landry led off with his third home run of the season to give the Generals an early 1-0 advantage.
Tennessee was able to tie things up in the top of the 4th inning. Ronald Torreyes led off with a double and moved over to third base after a passed ball. He came in to score on an RBI groundout by Alcantara to tie the game at 1-1.
Christian Villanueva put the Smokies in front on the top of the 5th with a solo home run, his second of the season, to make it 2-1 Smokies. Villanueva went 2-for-3 in the contest and extended his hitting streak to a season-long seven games.
The Smokies and Generals will continue their five-game series tomorrow afternoon at 12:05 ET when Tennessee sends left-hander Eric Jokisch (3-3, 4.17) to the mound against Jackson righty Brett Shankin (2-1, 4.15) at Generals Park.
The Pilot/Oscar Mayer Pregame Show with studio hosts Danny Will and Michael Wottreng begins at 11:45 a.m. on WPFT 106.3 ESPN Radio in Pigeon Forge, You can always listen to the Smokies Radio in it’s entirely on smokiesbaseball.com as well as the Smokies mobile app. To listen online, click here. Mick Gillispie will have the first pitch from Jackson at 12:05 p.m.
AUDIO RECAP: SMOKIES 3 Generals 2
Danny Will is a Senior Broadcast Assistant for the Smokies Radio Network. You can follow Danny on Twitter here: @DannyWillSays
Filed under Game Recap
Rubi Silva’s 16 extra-base hit of the season drove in the Smokies first run and his seventh home run tied it in the ninth. Photo Courtesy: John Shadrick
Matt Szczur delivered the go-ahead RBI double in a four-run top of the 9th inning as the Tennessee Smokies came back to shock the Jackson Generals by the final score of 6-4. The victory is the first for the Smokies in ten tries when trailing after eight innings.
Trailing 4-2 in the top of the 9th, Rafael Lopez led off with a home run off the right field foul pole to bring the Smokies within a run. Two batters later, Rubi Silva tied the game at 4-4 with an opposite field home run to left, his seventh of the season. Then after Tim Torres and Anthony Giansanti reached, Szczur’s RBI double gave the Smokies the lead at 5-4. Ronald Torreyes drove home the final run of the inning with a sacrifice fly that plated Giansanti.
Reliever Trey McNutt (2-3) got the win out of the bullpen for Tennessee and Tyler Burgoon (0-1) took the loss for Jackson allowing all four runs scored in the 9th. Kevin Rhoderick earned his first save of the season pitching a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th.
Silva broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the 2nd inning. With Lopez at third base and Christian Villanueva at first, Silva doubled off the wall in left field to bring in Lopez to put Tennessee up 1-0.
Jackson responded to take their first lead of the series with two runs in the second. James Jones tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI single that scored Vinnie Catricala. On the play, Julio Morban advanced to third base on an error by Giansanti and he would score on Steven Proscia’s RBI groundout to put the Generals in front 2-1.
Brad Miller’s fourth hit of the series in the bottom of the 3rd inning brought home Leon Landry and doubled Jackson’s advantage to 3-1.
Tennessee (18-18) and Jackson (15-20) exchanged runs in the seventh inning. Giansanti got the Smokies back within a run on an RBI double that scored Torres, but the Generals restored their two-run lead in the bottom of the 7th courtesy of a Julio Morban RBI single.
Both starters threw well in the contest but did not factor in the decision. Smokies righty Dallas Beeler went the first six innings allowing three runs, two of them earned, on six hits. Chance Ruffin pitched 6.2 innings for the Generals yielding two runs on seven hits and was in line for the win before the Smokies rally.
The Smokies and Generals will continue their five-game series tomorrow night at 8:05 ET when Tennessee sends right-hander Alberto Cabrera (3-1, 4.31) to the mound against Jackson righty Taijuan Walker (3-3, 2.23) at Generals Park.
AUDIO RECAP: SMOKIES 6 Generals 4
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Danny Will is a Senior Broadcast Assistant for the Smokies Radio Network. You can follow Danny on Twitter here: @DannyWillSays
Filed under Game Recap
Matt Szczur has four consecutive multi-hit games after a 3-for-5 game Sunday night. Photo Courtesy: Roger C. Hoover
Kyle Hendricks pitched 6.2 scoreless innings as the Tennessee Smokies opened up their ten-game road trip with a 5-0 shutout over the Jackson Generals at Generals Park. The Smokies have now won back-to-back games for the first time since April 25-26 against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
Hendricks (2-2) retired the first eleven batters he faced until allowing a two-out single to Brad Miller in the bottom of the 4th. He yielded just four hits in his 6.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts for his first road win at the AA level.
Tennessee (17-18) jumped on top of Jackson (15-19) with three runs in the top of the 2nd inning against starter Roenis Elias. Christian Villanueva led off with a double and eventually scored on a groundout by Jonathan Mota. Tim Torres then started a two-out rally by reaching on a two-base error by third baseman Vinnie Catricala. Jay Fernandez brought him in with an RBI single and Matt Szczur followed an RBI single of his own for a 3-0 lead.
Szczur’s third hit in as many at bats in the fourth inning scored Torres from second base to increase the advantage to 4-0. The Smokies outfielder was 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs and has multi-hit games in each of his last four contests.
The Smokies added their fifth run of the night in the 5th inning as Villanueva’s sacrifice fly plated Ronald Torreyes to make it 5-0 Tennessee. Tennessee had four leadoff doubles in their first five innings at the dish.
Elias (2-3) recovered from the tough start to pitch seven innings but still took the loss allowing five runs, two of them earned, on nine hits.
The Smokies and Generals will continue their five-game series tomorrow night at 8:05 ET when Tennessee sends right-hander Dallas Beeler (3-2, 3.16) to the mound against Jackson righty Chance Ruffin (1-1, 2.80) at Generals Park.
AUDIO RECAP: SMOKIES 5 Generals 0
Danny Will is a Senior Broadcast Assistant for the Smokies Radio Network. You can follow Danny on Twitter here: @DannyWillSays
Filed under Game Recap
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