SL1 Knoxville Smokies

Smokies fall to Mudcats Tuesday

Published on April 28, 2009 under Southern League (SL1)
Knoxville Smokies News Release


SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Smokies offense tallied five runs on eight hits, but fell to the Carolina Mudcats, 7-5, Tuesday afternoon in front of 6,420 fans at Smokies Park. The fervent crowd was primarily made up of area grade-schoolers for Safe Kids & Health Awareness Day, who watched the Smokies (9-9) fall to .500 on the year.

Coleman struggled early to find a groove. The Mudcats' scored in the first on a two-out triple by Juan Francisco, who then scored on a bloop single by Todd Frazier to make it 1-0 Mudcats.

Carolina would strike again in the second inning. A single from Shaun Cumberland and walk to Chris Kroski put runners at first and second. Eric Eymann would send a groundball through the left side of the infield, scoring Cumberland from second to make it 2-0 Carolina.

Two solo shots by the Smokies would tie the game at two after four. Kyle Reynolds blasted a 398-foot home run, his first of the year, to cut the Carolina lead to 2-1. Teammate Ty Wright followed with a solo shot to left-center in the fourth, extending his hitting streak to eight games and making it 2-2.

Carolina responded in the top of the fifth to chase Coleman from the game, thanks in large part to Juan Francisco's two-run home run that gave Carolina back the lead at 4-2. Coleman's attempt to win his first four starts of the year would fall short. The right-hander tossed five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out three in falling to 3-1 on the season.

The two teams traded runs in the seventh. Carolina went up 5-2 on a Zach Cozart double, scoring teammate Chris Heisey. Tennessee cut the lead to 5-3 on a pinch-hit RBI groundout by Blake Lalli.

Following two more Carolina runs in the ninth, the Smokies mounted a last-minute rally that just fell short. Down 7-5, Kyle Reynolds led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk. Welington Castillo then came up and launched a towering two-run shot to left-center, bringing home Castillo and cutting the lead to 7-5. That would be it for the Smokies though as Mudcats reliever Ramon Geronimo preserved the win for starter James Avery (1-2).

The conclusion of this five-game series will be Wednesday morning at 11:30 a.m. at Smokies Park. The rubber game will feature Smokies right-hander Jay Jackson (0-3, 9.45) facing off against the Mudcats' Misael DeJesus (1-1, 12.27). Tickets can be purchased at www.smokiesbaseball.com, or by calling (865) 286-2300.

ABOUT THE TENNESSEE SMOKIES The Tennessee Smokies are the minor league Class AA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Members of the 10-team Southern League, Smokies baseball has been entertaining families and fans of America's national pastime in the East Tennessee region for almost 100 years. To learn more about the Tennessee Smokies, visit www.smokiesbaseball.com - powered by Comcast.

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Southern League Stories from April 28, 2009


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