Birmingham Barons 9, Chattanooga Lookouts 6
The Barons rode the momentum from their one-hitter on Thursday to book a trip to the Southern League Championship, for the second straight year!
Birmingham’s lineup went all-in to beat Chattanooga and made a strong statement by scoring first on the road. With the bases loaded and just one out, DJ Gladney singled to score two. Although Riley Gowens allowed the Lookouts to knot the match at two apiece with three hits and two walks in the bottom of the first,
the Barons wasted no time in striking back. In the very next frame, William Bergolla drove Jordan Sprinkle in, knocking out Chattanooga’s starter. Sam Antonacci then walked, and reliever Nick Sandon delivered two wild pitchers to boost Bham up, 4-2.
Despite having a couple of dominoes fall against them, the Lookouts didn’t give up easily. Gowens yielded up his third and final run of the night in the third inning before he departed, but at least he struck out six and kept Birmingham in position to win.
The Barons padded their lead in the next two innings. Caden Connor contributed a pair of runs with a ground-rule double to drive in Ryan Galanie in the fifth, who was in scoring position after stealing second. Bergolla delivered his second RBI in the sixth, scoring none other than Sprinkle; clearly, Bergolla wants to start his season in Charlotte next year. By that point, Lucas Gordon had sufficiently tamed the Lookouts for two innings by striking five out. Although he did let a run slip by to put the game at 8-4, Gordon earned the win.
While the Barons came close to crumbling at the finish line, the offense thankfully provided enough to prevent a Chattanooga comeback. Phil Fox relented a two-run homer in the seventh, but that was all the offense the Lookouts could muster late. Alex Makarewicz’s RBI-double gave the Barons a final insurance run in the ninth, making it easy for Caleb Freeman to get three quick outs and send Bham back to the championship!
Barons MVP
William Bergolla (SS): 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB
Other Notables
DJ Gladney (CF): 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K
Lucas Gordon (RP): 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Ryan Galanie (1B): 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 SB
Sam Antonacci (3B): 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Barons Cold Cat
Phil Fox (RP): 2/3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 BB, 1 HR
Others, Chilled
Jorge Corona (C): 1-for-4
Jordan Sprinkle (2B): 0-for-4, 2 R, 1 BB
Rikku Nishida (RF): 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 BB
Charlotte Knights 8, Durham Bulls 7 (Statcast box)
The Knights (64-84) showed a last gasp of life at the end of their season with an 8-7 win over the Bulls (84-63).
Starter Duncan Davitt somehow came away with the win despite allowing seven hits and five runs through six frames, but the Knights provided hearty run support to bail him out. Dru Baker put the Knights on the board first with an oppo-taco to right field in the third, and Adam Hackenberg drove Ben Cowles in with a double in the next frame to keep the Knights within reach.
Down 5-2, the Knights waited until the sixth inning to deal their fatal blow. Charlotte rifled through its entire lineup to put up a six-spot. Although they got some help with a wild pitch and a bases-loaded walk, a timely bases-loaded double from Drake Logan and a second Baker home run split the game wide open to put the Knights on top, 8-5. Cowles, Logan, and Baker were the stars of the night, combining for six of Charlotte’s eight hits, six RBIs and five runs.
By the seventh, the Knights had regained enough momentum to give the bullpen just enough confidence to finish the game. Tommy Vail got through his first inning unscathed despite hitting the leadoff man, but he encountered troubles in the eighth when he gave up a two-run homer to old friend Matt Thaiss to cut the lead to one. Fortunately, Zach Franklin immediately replaced him and collected the save.
Charlotte’s disappointing season ends tomorrow — but at least they won’t be swept in this series!
Knights MVP
Dru Baker (CF): 2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR
Other Notables
Drake Logan (RF): 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Ben Cowles (2B): 2-for-4, 2 R
Zach Franklin (RP): 1 2/3 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Mario Camilletti (LF): 1-for-2, 1 BB
Knights Cold Cat
Duncan Davitt (SP): 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Others, Chilled
Corey Julks (DH): 0-for-4, 1 K
Bryan Ramos (3B): 1-for-3, 1 BB, 2 K
Tommy Vail (RP): 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
