Photo Post - Grape Jelly Series Recap

After handling the Tn.Smokies for five games, the Biscuit bus headed north and met defeat at the hands of the lowly Lookouts.

Sure, the Chatts are the first half division champs, but the team had its wheels chocked by repeated callups over the past month or two.

Hopefully the Skitz can avoid a repeat of the Pensacola trip and maintain its fine form over the next week.

Grape Jelly Series Recap

The most recent round of the Smokies-Biscuits matchup was all Montgomery. The good guys just kept getting timely hits and scoring runs late in the game and this is how it happened.... 

Game One
Military Wednesday
score:  4-1
Montgomery Starter Jacob Faria was dominant, again, with eight strikeouts in six innings the young lefty allowed just two hits and picking up the victory.

Faria did walk five men, which kept him from pitching deeper into the game.


The hometown scoring was all in the third inning, a Tommy Coyle homerun plated a pair and two runs were scored later in the frame when Cam Seitzer doubled with two men on to stake the lead to four.

The Bullpen bent, but did not break, Markel allowing one run and new Biscuit Schreiber getting the save.

Joey Rickard stole his 12th base. "Blanco Suave" is always a threat on the basepaths. The Biscuits currently have four players with double digit thefts.

Game Two
 9-2
Thirsty Thursday

Biscuits starter Jamie Schultz ran out of pitches, pulled before he could qualify for the win.

Not to be outdone by Faria, Schultz also tallied eight strikeouts, but surrendered a run on three hits and a whopping seven bases on balls.

Joey Rickard led off the Biscuits first inning with a triple and scored on the next pitch via a sacrifice fly from Leonardo Reginatto and Montgomery would never look back. Adding two runs in the 3rd inning, 4th inning, 5th inning and again in the 6th the home team pounded the Smokies starter for 10 hits in the first five frames.

Johnny Field launched his team leading 12th home run and Patrick Leonard racked up a pair of well struck doubles to lead the Biscuits charge. Dayron Varona drove in a pair of runs, he has 12 while with Montgomery.

Reliever Mark Sappington picked up the Win, the Peculiar native threw a two-and-a-third good innings for the departed Schultz. Kyle McPherson closed out the game with two scoreless innings in the non-save situation. 

Kyle McPherson

Game Three
4-3
Friday Nite Fireworks

Chris Kirsch

New Biscuit Starting pitcher Chris "CJ" Kirsch made his home debut, tossing five innings.

Kirsch allowed three runs, all earned, on five hits and three walks while striking out four. When he left the game he was on the hook for the loss, but the Biscuits would bail him out.

The scoring was opened by the Smokies with a run in the third, Montgomery answered with a run of their own in the fourth inning. After the Smokies put another pair of runs up in the fifth it looked bleak as Cubs prospect Pierce Johnson refused to give up any more than the one early run.

However when the Biscuits 8th inning started with an error, a walk and a Cameron Seitzer single, the stage was set for a comeback. The Skitz would score thanks to a bases-loaded walk by Patrick Leonard, a single from Jake Bauers tied the game and Montgomery took the lead with a Tyler Goeddel sacrifice fly.

The Smokies would appeal the play, saying that Field missed the plate. Appeal denied.

Reliever Brad Schrieber would work his way into and out of and back into trouble again in the 9th inning, working on his best Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams impression. He allowed a single, then got a ground ball double play to put out the fire but the Smokies weren't done.

With two outs the baby Cubs loaded the bases before Schrieber finally got the strikeout - on a foul tip that catcher Justin O'Conner was just able to grasp.

Tyler Goeddel stole his 16th base, which leads the team and ranks 9th in the league.

Patrick Leonard

Patrick Leonard continued his hot streak, driving a frozen rope over the left field wall for his 6th long ball of the season.

Another day, another Dayron Varona outfield assist. This time he gunned down a Smokie trying to take second base on what should have been an easy double down the line. Varona thinks he should have stayed at first.



Relief pitcher Ryan Garton vultured his third win of the year.

Garton

Game Four - 

Star Wars Night

2-1

The Dayron Varona Gun Show

or

The First Rebels Win in Montgomery in 35 Years

Snellzilla

Blake Snell made what would turn out to be his final start as a Biscuit on Saturday, and he showed he was up to the task. The prospect lefty struck out seven and allowed just two hits and walked one on his way to five shutout innings.

The following day we learned he had been promoted to triple-A. Well deserved!


The Skitz scoring broke open in the 6th inning, Johnny Field scoring on a fielders choice. The Smokies would answer with a run of their own in the 7th to knot the score and there it would stay tied, sending the game into extra frames thanks to Dayron Varona.

Dayron Varona gonna cut you down

With a runner at second and only one out Dayron Varona was tested when a sinking line drive was driven into centerfield and created a play at the plate.

The largest crowd of the year Oooh'd and Aaah'd as the scene developed - the Smokies runner streaking round third base as Varona's throw sailed home.



TRUTH IN ADVERTISING
Okay, you caught me. 
It was the Smokies catcher running, so he wasn't exactly streaking. 

tough to see, but it reads Empire v Rebels

Also Varona's throw was a 99-hopper that would have been cut off if the Biscuits first baseman was able to bend over far enough to get it. 

Plus the throw was off the mark, drawing the catcher up the third base line. Its a safe bet that everyone in the ballpark thought the runner would score easily but somehow the orb stuck in the catchers mitt and the tag was applied to the sliding runner in time for the out.


Extra Innings ensue.
Well, okay, you got me again. 
It was Extra Inning. Just one.

Tyler Goeddel

In the bottom of the 10th Johnny Field led off with a ringing double, Pattie Leonard singled and Jake Bauers was intentionally walked. For the second day in a row the game was won on a Tyler Goeddel sacrifice fly, this time it was walkoff style.

Reliever Matt Lollis logged the win after pitching a scoreless tenth.

Johnny Field Jr stole two bases, both on the same trip around the pillows.


Game Five
12-3
Sunday Kids Day

It was like the Oldies Station - the hits just kept on rolling after the rain delayed the start of the game.

Austin Pruitt

Austin Pruitt, making his first home start since tossing a 90-pitch, two hit shutout at Riverwalk on July 8th, was much more hittable but still managed to escape with the win.

Its easy to win when the team scores 12 runs that day, even when "The Bandit" was knocked around for three runs on eight hits and three free passes. Pruitt did strike out five in five innings before giving way to the 'pen.

Varona gets a high five after his homerun

There was plenty of thunder even after the rains had stopped, the scoring capped by Jake Bauers grand slam in the 7th inning.

Outfielder Dayron Varona homered, doubled and singled twice and scored three times on his way to a five hit game. He did not throw anyone out.

The relief corp was exceptional on this day, Garton and McPherson combining for 3.1 shutout innings with five strikeouts, one hit and one walk.