CHATTANOOGA, Ten. - Nathan Lukes' solo home run broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the eighth, and evened the 2017 North Division Series for the Biscuits, who beat the Chattanooga Lookouts in Game 2 on Thursday night at AT&T Field, 3-2. The victory snapped Montgomery's eight-game losing streak
CHATTANOOGA, Ten. - Nathan Lukes' solo home run broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the eighth, and evened the 2017 North Division Series for the Biscuits, who beat the Chattanooga Lookouts in Game 2 on Thursday night at AT&T Field, 3-2. The victory snapped Montgomery's eight-game losing streak to Chattanooga, and was only the second win in 12 tries for the Butter and Blue at AT&T Field this year.
Anthony Misiewicz got the start for the Biscuits and had an early lead to work with as the Biscuits scored twice in the top of the first against Lookouts starter Dereck Rodríguez. Joe McCarthy, Jake Cronenworth, Justin Williams, and Nick Ciuffo all tallied a single in the first, as McCarthy scored on a throwing error by Chattanooga shortstop Nick Gordon, and Cronenworth on a sac fly by Dalton Kelly. The four hits in the first were as many as the Biscuits recorded in their nine-inning, 4-3 Game 1 loss.
After working a scoreless first, Misiewicz would allow an RBI-double to Max Murphy to cut the lead to one. The score remained 2-1, as the 22-year-old continued to work around some traffic, until the seventh, when Lookouts third baseman TJ White teed off on the lefty for a game-tying, solo homer that deflected off the top of the 16-foot high wall in left. After Murphy singled off Misiewicz in the next at-bat, Edwin Fierro (1-0) was summoned from the bullpen and retired the rest.
Rodriguez would finish the night going seven innings of two-run ball, scattering seven hits, no walks, and seven strikeouts in a no-decision. Ivan Rodriguez's son would hand the reigns over to right-handed reliever Cody Stashak for the start of the eighth, and on the first pitch of the inning, Lukes clobbered his towering solo homer over the right field wall to break the tie and hand the Biscuits a 3-2 lead.
Ian Gibaut then entered for Fierro, and after working a scoreless eighth, plunked Ryan Strausborger with one out in the bottom of the ninth after an incredible diving catch by right fielder Justin Williams denied Murphy a lead-off hit, and then walked Ryan Walker to put Lookouts at first and second. Gibaut then struck out former big leaguer and pinch hitter Andy Wilkins, before getting Nick Gordon to fly out to deep right-center field to end the game.
The Biscuits will now head back to Montgomery for Game 3 on Friday night, which will be their final home game of the year, to try to take a 2-1 series lead when Génesis Cabrera (5-4) clashes with Felix Jorge (10-3) at 6:35 PM.
