Series Recap: Biscuits Vs Smokies
Published on August 25, 2025 under Southern League (SL)
Knoxville Smokies News Release
Knoxville Smokies outfielder Brett Bateman
(Knoxville Smokies, Credit: Lindsay Coward)
Knoxville, TN - The Knoxville Smokies returned home to Knoxville for a six game series vs. the Montgomery Biscuits, the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Knoxville was looking to close the gap on the first place Birmingham Barons and the second place Chattanooga Lookouts. Going into the series, the Smokies sat 7.5 games back of first place Birmingham. This series was pivotal for the Smokies, who are competing for a playoff spot with limited time remaining.
Game 1: Montgomery Seizes Control Over Knoxville
Knoxville and Montgomery were both scoreless in the first two frames. The Smokies struck first after Ethan Hearn mashed a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning. The Biscuits answered with two runs after a single to left field from C Kenny Piper. The hit knocked in both INF Cooper Kinney and 1B Will Simpson. Zac Leigh came from the bullpen in the fifth inning and delivered two scoreless innings.
Scoring became a factor in the seventh when OF Homer Bush Jr. produced a sacrifice bunt to score SS Gregory Barrios for the Biscuits. Knoxville answered with a run of their own as Jordan Nwogu singled to center field with a line drive scoring Pablo Aliendo. The eighth inning did not provide runs for either team. The Biscuits created some breathing room from the Smokies after scoring two more runs in the top of the ninth inning. INF Jadher Areinamo brought in OF Colton Ledbetter after a line drive to left field. The Biscuits insurance runs in the ninth put the game out of reach for the Smokies. Montgomery took the victory over Knoxville with a score of 4-1.
Game 2: Too little, too late
Heading into game two, Knoxville looked to flip the script from the game one loss. The Biscuits offense got off to a hot start when Jadher Areinamo hit a solo home run in the top of the first inning. Knoxville could not answer in the first, leaving the Biscuits up one run. Knoxville and Montgomery had a scoreless frame in the second, but the Biscuits momentum continued in the third inning as they added on another run. Knoxville had two men in scoring position but could not capitalize on the opportunity in the bottom of the third inning.
The fourth inning did not see damage for either side, but the fifth saw Montgomery stretch their lead to 3 runs after Colton Ledbetter's single drove in Gregory Barrios. Montgomery scored another run in the sixth, adding onto their lead. Knoxville finally got on the board following a double from Pedro Ramirez that scored Brett Bateman. Despite scoring in the ninth, the Smokies fell 4-1 to the Biscuits. The major difference in game two was the Biscuits nine hits compared to Knoxville's two.
Game 3: Knoxville's offensive masterclass
After dropping game one and two, the Smokies were desperate for a win as they fell nine games behind Birmingham. The Biscuits jumped to an early one run lead in the second inning after both teams were scoreless in the first. The run came from Kenny Piper's sacrifice fly that scored Cooper Kinney. Knoxville responded with a run in the bottom of the third inning after Pedro Ramirez hit a sacrifice fly to score Andy Garriola. Jadher Areinamo hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning to regain the lead.
Montgomery added to the lead in the top of the fifth inning, scoring one run. In the bottom of the fifth, Ethan Hearn blasted his seventh home run of the season, which was a two run home run. The blast brought in Jordan Nwogu to tie the game at three a piece. While neither team scored in the sixth inning, the Smokies were not done at the plate. Knoxville scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings. This offensive burst gave the Smokies a 9-3 lead over the Biscuits. The Smokies bullpen also did their part not allowing any runs in their four innings of work. This included Will Jensen, Evan Taylor, and A.J. Puckett. The hitting category was dominated with Knoxville having 14 compared to Montgomery's eight. Jordan Nwogu had 4 hits and flashed the leather multiple times. The Smokies picked up game three defeating the Biscuits 9-3.
Game 4: Biscuits Bounce Back
After winning game three of the series, Knoxville looked to keep their momentum going. The first two frames did not see much offensive production, with both teams going scoreless. The Biscuits struck first, scoring one run after Brayden Taylor's single drove in Homer Bush Jr. Knoxville did not counter in the bottom of the third with a run of their own. The Biscuits tallied another run when Brock Jones hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth. Knoxville once again went scoreless in the bottom of the fourth.
The Biscuits were silent in the fifth inning, while Knoxville got a scoring boost from Ethan Hearn's solo home run, which was his eighth of the season. The Biscuits stole back the momentum, scoring a run in the top of the sixth inning and two runs in the seventh inning. Knoxville would not score another run until the bottom of the ninth inning after Montgomery also added one in the ninth. The Biscuits' consistency at the plate paid off as they won 6-2 over the Knoxville Smokies.
Game 5: Mother Nature takes its course
Game five was moved to Sunday due to a weather postponement. With that in mind, game five is a seven inning matchup due to a doubleheader. The Smokies struggled early on to produce runs, going scoreless through the first five innings. The Biscuits jumped onto the scoreboard in the second inning behind a solo home run from Brayden Taylor. The third inning for the Biscuits looked similar with another solo home run, but this time from Colton Ledbetter. The Smokies scored a run in the sixth inning after Pedro Ramirez hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Brett Bateman. The home run fest continued for Montgomery as Kamren James hit a solo home run. The Smokies battled, but it was not enough to get a victory against the Biscuits. Montgomery got the upper hand, winning by a score of 3-1.
Game 6: Late Inning Nail Biter
Entering the final game of the series, both teams realized the urgency to get a win late in the season. The Smokies and Biscuits were both held scoreless the first four innings. A big reason for that was starting pitcher Jaxon Wiggins, who did not allow a run or a hit in his three innings of work. The Biscuits picked up a run off of Noah Myers' sacrifice bunt, which scored Tatem Levins in the top of the fifth inning to give Montgomery a 1-0 lead.
The Smokies responded with two runs of their own when Carter Trice hit a two run home run that drove in Jordan Nwogu. This was Carter Trice's first career home run in Double-A. Unfortunately for the Smokies, Tatem Levins mashed a three run home run that scored Cooper Kinney and Brayden Taylor. Knoxville could not get a run across in the bottom of the sixth inning, and Montgomery added one more run in the top of the seventh inning. Knoxville piled up two runs in the ninth inning behind Brett Bateman's sacrifice fly that scored Jordan Nwogu, and a single from Pedro Ramirez that scored Jaylen Palmer. Though the Smokies bats came alive in the ninth, they came up one run short losing 5-4 to the Biscuits.
Wrap Up
The Smokies lost the series 1-5 vs. the Montgomery Biscuits. Knoxville's one win in this series saw nine runs and many multi-hit performances. The rest of the series did not go the way the Smokies had hoped.
With the conclusion of this series, Knoxville sits at 24-26 in the second half. The Smokies are now 11 games back of the first place Birmingham Barons, and one game back of second place Chattanooga Lookouts. Knoxville will look to make some ground next series
The Smokies will get a prized opportunity to chip away at leaders in the southern league north with a matchup vs. the Birmingham Barons. These next six games will go a long way in the Smokies' opportunity to make the playoffs. Find your tickets to the final two homestands at Covenant Health Park on smokiesbaseball.com and tune into all the action on 92.5 FM/1180 AM WKCE or milb.tv.
Images from this story
 Knoxville Smokies outfielder Brett Bateman (Lindsay Coward) |
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