smokies let one slip away

In a back and forth battle at Smokies Park tonight, the Tennessee Smokies dropped a tough decision to the Carolina Mudcats by the score of 6-5 in ten innings. With the loss, the Smokies dropped to four games behind the Mudcats in the 2nd half division title race in front of 3,487 fans.

Tennessee jumped out to an early lead tonight; the first time in the series the Smokies took the first lead of the game. Nate Spears continued his torrid hitting lately with a three run bomb over the right field wall to give Tennessee a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. The home run was Spears’ sixth of the season and third of this current series.

Carolina was able to claw their way back into the game by scoring four runs over the next three innings of the contest. Gaby Sanchez continued to be the Smokies killer this series after launching a two-run homer in the fourth off of Smokies starting pitcher Donnie Veal. After plating a run in the fifth, Carolina took the lead thanks to Sanchez’s second home run of the game, a solo shot to left field off Veal.

The Smokies would tie the game up at 4-4 in the sixth thanks to an RBI sacrifice fly from Kyle Reynolds to score Jake Fox. Carolina would regain the lead in the eighth inning when Lee Mitchell, who doubled to lead off the inning, would come home to score on a passed ball by Smokies catcher Welington Castillo. With the score 5-4 Mudcats, the Smokies would tie the game up in the bottom of the ninth as Spears came up big again with a little help from Carolina. With Matt Matulia on second and Blake Lalli on first, Spears hit a high chopping grounder towards first for a hit, with Matulia scoring on the play thanks to a throwing error by Sanchez on the play.

But the Smokies would give the game away in the top of the tenth, as Cameron Maybin would trot home on a wild pitch by Smokies reliever Dumas Garcia (2-1) with two outs. The Smokies would be unable to mount a rally in their half of the tenth, suffering their third loss in a row to the Mudcats.

Spears would go two for three on the night with three RBI and scoring one run. Fox also continued his hot hitting with a multiple hit night of his own. Chris Mobley (4-2) would earn the win in relief for the Mudcats, with Jacob Marceaux earning his first save of the season.

The Smokies will finish up their five-game series against the Mudcats on Tuesday night with game time set for 7:15 pm at Smokies Park. Tennessee will look to right-hander Mark Holliman (1-4, 4.77) to face off against Carolina left-hander Aaron Thompson (0-3, 6.22). The Smokies will then hit the road for a five-game set against the Chattanooga Lookouts, returning to Smokies Park on Tuesday August 12th to face off against the Birmingham Barons.