SMOKIES SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER WITH BRAVES

PEARL, MISSISSIPPI - Friday night's game was suspended in the third inning due to rain, pushing back the opportunity for the Smokies to pick up their first win of the season. The weather wouldn't get in the way on Saturday though, as Tennessee picked up a 7-2 win in game one of the double-header once play resumed.
In game one, Jason Vosler gave Tennessee a 1-0 lead on a sac fly to right that allowed Zack Short to score. After the Braves tied it up in the bottom half of the inning, starting pitcher Duncan Robinson extended Tennessee's lead to 2-1 on an RBI single. The Smokies would tack on two more runs in the inning to take a 4-1 lead.
After extending the lead to 5-1 on an Ian Rice sacrifice fly, the game was postponed in the third due to rain on Friday night. Zach Hedges picked things back up on the mound when the game resumed on Saturday. Hedges would go to pitch four scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the season. 
Game two followed an hour after the completion of game one. The results weren't as kind to the Smokies, as they fell to the Braves 7-5.
Tennessee jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the second inning thanks to a Mississippi error that plated two and a two-run double from Trent Giambrone. The lead would only hold a couple of innings, as Mississippi scored seven straight runs to win the game. Erick Castillo would score Trey Martin on an RBI single in the sixth to make it a two-run game, but that's all the Smokies could muster.
Thomas Hatch was on the mound in game two, making his Smokies debut. Hatch would go four innings, allowing three runs on four hits. James Pugliese would surrender four runs in 0.1 innings of work to take the loss.
The Smokies and Braves will be back in action tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. ET for game four of the five-game series. Tennessee looks to even up the series with Oscar De La Cruz on the mound.
ABOUT THE TENNESSEE SMOKIES
The Tennessee Smokies are the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Members of the ten-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