Finals preview: Smokies v. Suns

The Vols versus the Gators isn't the only Tennessee-Florida match-up brewing this week. Your 2009 Smokies take on the Jacksonville Suns in a best-of-five series for the Southern League Championship this week. The winner will take home the Billy Hitchcock Trophy and be crowned the 2009 Southern League champion!

The Tennessee Smokies were able to keep on rolling in the Southern League playoffs with Sunday's 3-1 victory over the Huntsville Stars. The win clinched a 3-1 series victory and puts the Smokies in the league championship series for the first time since 2004.

As is usually the case in the playoffs, solid pitching will keep a team in games and earn them wins. The Smokies are no exception to this rule. In the Huntsville series, Smokies' starters threw 20.2 innings. Over that span, they compiled a 1.70 ERA while striking out 10 batters and only walking five. Add in some timely hitting, and you have a combination that is hard to top. The Smokies' starters only trailed the Stars for ½ inning over the entire series.

It wasn't just the starters that brought their "A" game this week either. The Smokies bullpen was equally impressive. The bullpen threw 14.1 innings and had a solid 2.51 ERA. Closer Brian Schlitter was the anchor in the pen during the Huntsville series. He has had three save opportunities and has converted on them all. In his 3.1 innings of work, he allowed only one hit, one walk and did not allow a single run to cross the plate.

Chicago native David Cales has also put in his fair share of work out of the pen. In two appearances, he has thrown 4.1 innings, only giving up a single hit and a walk while striking out four. Like Schlitter, Cales also held the Stars scoreless. If the Smokies can continue to put up numbers like these, they very well could taste champagne for the third time this season.

Jacksonville will not be a pushover by any stretch of the imagination however. The Suns did win the season series against the Smokies this year 8-7. They also disposed of the Birmingham Barrons quickly and easily in their South Division Playoff, three games to none. They outscored the Barrons 24-5 over the series.

This offensive prowess is what the Suns should bank on in their series with the Smokies. They have several players in particular that have lit up the Smokies all year. Logan Morrison heads that list, as he is always a threat to reach base. The hard-hitting first baseman has a robust .353 average with a home run and 10 RBIs in 12 games against Tennessee. He also showed patience at the plate against the Smokies, drawing 15 walks.

Second baseman Kevin Randel has also developed a liking for Smokies pitching. He is hitting .310 with a home run and five RBIs against the Smokies. To make matters worse, he is coming into the series on fire. In the Birmingham series, Randel led the Suns with a .462 batting average, four doubles and six RBIs.

Despite these two hitters leading the Suns, the Smokies' pitchers will still have to be cautious of the entire Suns lineup. Out of the 11 different position players that came to the plate throughout the Birmingham series, nine got at least one RBI. Seven players had two or more RBI. The Suns are also not afraid to play "small ball" either. All 24 runs scored against the Barons were without the aid of a home run.

The series will start at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m., with Game 2 following on Wednesday. The teams will then travel to East Tennessee on Thursday before facing off in Game 3 at Smokies Park on Friday at 7:15 p.m. If needed, Game 4 and Game 5 will be played at Smokies Park on Saturday (7:15 p.m.) and Sunday (5:00 p.m.).

Pitching Probables - Jacksonville starter is listed first.

Tuesday, Sept. 15: RHP Nic Ungs (1-0, 1.29) vs. RHP Chris Carpenter (0-0, 0.00)
Wednesday, Sept. 16: LHP Graham Taylor (1-0, 1.59) vs. LHP Jeremy Papelbon (0-0, 2.25)
Friday, Sept. 18: RHP Brad Stone (0-0, 9.00) vs. RHP Casey Coleman (1-0, 1.17)
Saturday, Sept. 19: TBA vs. RHP Andrew Cashner (0-0, 4.50)
Sunday, Sept. 20: TBA vs. RHP Hung-Wen Chen (0-0,0.00)