Smokies clinch first-half crown

Tennessee got by with a little help from its archrival Saturday, clinching the Southern League North Division first-half title when West Tenn dropped the first game of a doubleheader.

The Smokies learned early in their game in Mobile, Ala., that they had wrapped up their third postseason berth in four years.

"About the third inning we found out and it didn't change our plans," first-year manager Bill Dancy said. "We went out and played hard."

Dancy replaced Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, who was promoted to manage Triple-A Iowa after guiding Tennessee to the Southern League Championship Series. Until last year, Dancy had spent his entire career in the Philadelphia organization and led Double-A Reading to the Eastern League crown in 1995. He worked for the Kansas City Royals in 2009.

The Smokies (41-27), who would go on to lose to Mobile, 4-3, later on Saturday night, are helmed by skipper Bill Dancy. Dancy replaced Ryne Sandberg, who led Tennessee to the Southern League Championship Series in 2009 before being tabbed as the manager of the Iowa Cubs during the off-season.

The Smokies ended up losing to Mobile, 4-3. Chris Carpenter left with a 3-2 lead after giving up two runs on five hits over five innings. Jeremy Papelbon allowed a game-tying double in the seventh and Alex Maestri (2-3) took the loss after surrendering a walk-off single to Evan Frey with two outs in the ninth.

Outfielder Ty Wright raised his average to .301 with three hits and an RBI. The former seventh-round Draft pick is 10-for-18 over his last four games, is tied for third in the league with 10 homers and ranks fourth with 50 RBIs. Dancy cited him as one of the team's leaders while praising catcher Robinson Chirinos for his defensive skills.

"I think you have to look at Ty Wright," Dancy said. "He's had a solid first half, he's one of the guys you want at the plate in an RBI situation. You look at the whole lineup and everyone is contributing. I think Robinson Chirinos has done an outstanding job behind the plate with the pitchers and has thrown a lot of basestealers out."

The Smokies (41-27) went 16-6 in April but slumped in May, going 13-15. Dancy, a 58-year-old Florida native, said his team never got down on itself.

"We started off as hot as we were, we knew we weren't going to stay that hot," he said. "We never dropped our heads, we played one game at a time. I said to the coaching staff tonight, we've stayed in first place since Day 1. It's a tribute to all the kids in that room. We've gone through some good times and bad times, but they have never dropped their heads."

Montgomery is two percentage points ahead of second-place Jacksonville in the South Division and can clinch the first-half title by beating Huntsville on Sunday. The Suns play at Birmingham.