Clingstones' Spirited Rally Falls Short in 11-10 Loss to Chattanooga

Columbus nearly overcomes 10-1 deficit in series finale

E.J. Exposito crushed his second grand slam of the season to give Columbus some life on Sunday. (Olivia Crew)

By Jack Johnson

July 27, 2025

COLUMBUS, Ga., — The Columbus Clingstones (12-15, 38-55) fell into a 10-1 crater against the Chattanooga Lookouts (14-12, 52-40), but a grand slam from E.J. Exposito changed the game and nearly sparked an improbable comeback for Columbus which fell just short in an 11-10 loss on Sunday afternoon at Synovus

COLUMBUS, Ga., — The Columbus Clingstones (12-15, 38-55) fell into a 10-1 crater against the Chattanooga Lookouts (14-12, 52-40), but a grand slam from E.J. Exposito changed the game and nearly sparked an improbable comeback for Columbus which fell just short in an 11-10 loss on Sunday afternoon at Synovus Park. Chattanooga won the series 5-1.

Decisive Plays: Leo Balcazar launched Chattanooga in front with a solo home run that was part of a four-run first for the Lookouts. Chattanoga would build a 10-1 lead going into the last of the third, where Ethan Workinger doubled in Geraldo Quintero to make it 10-2. Trailing 10-3 in the fifth inning, Exposito cranked a grand slam to suddenly bring Columbus within three runs. Columbus would enter the seventh down 11-7 but score again on a double from Drew Compton. The Stones would get two more back in the eighth inning after a double steal by Cade Bunnell and Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. forced a throwing error from Chattanooga catcher Connor Burns. Trailing 11-10 in the ninth inning, Columbus could not spark another rally, going down in order against Trevor Kuncl (S, 14) to lose 11-10.

Key Contributors: Exposito (2-for-4, 2B, HR, 5 RBI) almost gave Columbus the offensive life it needed wiht his grand slam in the fifth inning while Workinger (2-for-3, 2B, RBI), Compton (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) and Quintero (1-for-4, RBI) all drove in runs for the Clingstones. For Chattanooga, Balcazar (3-for-5, HR, 4 RBI), Edwin Arroyo (3-for-6, 2B, 2 RBI) and Cam Collier (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI) all had multi-RBI games.

Notable: The grand slam for Exposito was his second of the season and the seventh for Columbus, the most amongst Double-A clubs. The game featured the second time Columbus has allowed an opponent to score at least 10 runs in game and the second time Columbus has scored at least 10 runs in a game. Kilpatrick Jr. pushed his hitting streak to eight games, setting a new career high.

Next Game (Tuesday, July 29): Columbus at Montgomery, 7:35 pm ET at Riverwalk Stadium. Both starting pitchers are currently TBD. Radio Broadcast: 7:20 pm ET on Sports Visions 92.1 FM.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, August 5): Columbus vs. Rocket City, 7:05 pm ET at Synovus Park. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 pm ET on Sports Visions 92.1 FM.