Smokies Fall on Opening Day

Written by Jacob Woods

KODAK, Tenn. - The Smokies opened the 2023 season Thursday in disappointing fashion with a six-two loss to the Birmingham Barons at Smokies Stadium.

Birmingham struck first in the top of the second inning on a throwing error by catcher Miguel Amaya. The Barons stole second and third on the play, and on the attempted throw out at third, the ball flew over the head of third baseman Luis Verdugo that allowed Hackenberg to bring in the first run of the night. Home Runs in the sixth and seventh innings by Birmingham extended their lead to four-nothing as the Barons attempted to put the game out of reach for Tennessee.

The Smokies showed signs of life in the bottom of the eighth after the one and two hitters walked. With two runners on base and no outs, starting catcher Miguel Amaya flew out to CF for the first out of the inning. Smokies left-fielder Crow-Armstrong stole third to give the Smokies an opportunity to get on the board, but shortly after Nelson Maldonado grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

The Barons drove in two more runs in the top of the ninth to extend the lead to six-zero and put the Smokies in a tough situation with only half an inning left to play. However, Tennessee ran across their first run of the game on a passed ball in the bottom of the ninth. Owen Caissie doubled to left field allowing BJ Murray to reach third and be in position to score on the passed ball. Luis Vasquez then hit a sacrifice fly to center field, which allowed Caissie to score run number two. Crow-Armstrong singled to left field on a line drive to get two runners on and give life to the comeback, but it ended shortly after with a fly out to right field by Chase Strumpf.

The Smokies will play game two of their three-game opening-weekend series against the Birmingham Barons tomorrow night, Friday, April 7th. First pitch is set for 7:00 PM ET.

For tickets call (865) 286-2300 or visit smokiesbaseball.com.

ABOUT THE TENNESSEE SMOKIES

The Tennessee Smokies are the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Members of the eight-team Southern League, Smokies baseball has been entertaining families and fans of America’s national pastime in the East Tennessee region for over 100 years. To learn more about the Tennessee Smokies, visit www.smokiesbaseball.com.