Schebler, Lookouts down Generals in 18th

At some point in the night's third extra inning when the skies above Generals Park opened up, Scott Schebler and his teammates had to laugh.

And much later, Schebler belted a two-run homer in the top of the 18th inning to provide some breathing room as Double-A Chattanooga outlasted Jackson, 7-4, on Monday night.

"It ended up being a really fun night. It'll be a night to remember for sure," Schebler said. "I think it was about the 12th inning when it just started downpouring and you're like, 'Really? We're already in the 12th inning and we can't score a run, and now it's going to pour on us?' I think it was around then when we were like, 'Oh, this is one of those bizarre nights. Let's have fun with it.'"

The evening hadn't been particularly kind to Schebler until the Lookouts' breakthrough inning well past midnight in Tennessee.

"My first six at-bats were terrible, so something had to happen. In the past, I probably would've just given up after those in a game like that," Schebler said.

The Dodgers' No. 15 prospect certainly didn't, and neither did his team. Chattanooga battled back from a three-run deficit to tie the game and force extra frames, and as the innings wore on, neither their pitching staff nor Jackson's would buckle. In fact, neither team placed a runner in scoring position in extras until the Lookouts put men at second and third with one out in the 17th. Generals reliever Stephen Shackleford secured a double-play ball to squash the rally, though.

"The whole team was in the dugout trying to make up all these rally things," Schebler said. "It was funny because everybody was trying to get into it. Everybody ended up getting into the game, I feel like, so everybody contributed somehow."

Then came the 18th and a quick change of fortune for the Lookouts. The Dodgers' No. 19 prospect Darnell Sweeney doubled to kick off the inning and scored two batters later on Daniel Mayora's triple to give Chattanooga its first lead since the top of the first five hours earlier. After Ryan Adams struck out, Schebler deposited an offering by Shackleford (2-1) over the left-field wall.

"It was just relief, to be honest," Schebler said. "I don't think we even thought about defense. We weren't thinking about defense until we got three outs and then realized we still had to go out there. It got to that point where it kind of numbed everything, and we were just laughing everything off."

Fittingly, Schebler bookended the bottom of the 18th with flyouts hit his way in left field to close out the longest game of the season for both teams. Juan Ramon Noriega (1-1) pitched three perfect innings for the win, which wrapped up just around 11 hours prior to these teams' scheduled Tuesday first pitch.

The experience and the win, though, sent the Lookouts to a short night's rest on a positive note.

"We're blaring music in the clubhouse still, so we're having a good time," Schebler said a short time after squeezing the final out in his glove. "I mean it's always nice to win obviously, especially a game like that. I think it brought the team closer together."