Aliendo’s Magical Night Ends in Walk-off Fashion

Written by Jacob Woods

KODAK, Tenn. - The Smokies avenged their opening-day loss to the Birmingham Barons with a 10-9 win on Friday night in walk-off fashion.

On the board first were the Birmingham Barons with a line drive double to left field that went all the way to the wall, driving in runners from first and third. Later in the inning after a walk, Barons catcher Xavier Fernandez ripped one up the middle for a single, scoring the runner on second, making it 3-0. A ground ball up the middle by Tyler Neslony drove in the fourth run in the inning for the Barons, giving them the 4-0 lead. The top of the fourth inning came to an end after a pitching change for the Smokies brought in LHP Dalton Stambaugh who was able to get a K to end the inning. The Barons continued to lay it on the Smokies in the top of the fifth as Yoelqui Cespedes hit a two-run home run to left field to extend the lead to 6-0.

Pablo Aliendo got his first hit of his Double-A career in the bottom of the fifth on a line drive to left field and was able to get to third on a wild pitch during the next at-bat. Chase Strumpf got the scoring started in the bottom of the fifth with a sacrifice fly allowing Aliendo to score from third. Bryce Ball drove in Andy Weber for the second run of the inning, and then Nelson Maldonaldo did the same and got Weber across for the third run to complete the scoring for Tennessee in the inning, cutting the Barons lead to just three.

With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Nelson Maldonado hit a ground ball to right field that allowed the runners at second and third to score, narrowing the margin even further to just a one-run deficit for the Smokies.

The top of the eighth saw the Barons extend their lead again with a deep shot over the right field wall by Neslony. Luis Mieses then hit a sacrifice fly to center field allowing the runner at third to score, giving the Barons an 8-5 lead before the Smokies could end the inning.

The Smokies loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth to give hope to the late rally. Owen Caissie singled a line drive to right field to bring home two runners and bring the deficit down to two runs. Aliendo then hit a walk-off 3-run home run over the left field wall to give the Smokies their first win of the year and complete the late rally.

Tomorrow night is “Easter Celebration” night at Smokies Stadium, where kids can meet the Easter Bunny and take part in a special Easter egg hunt featuring over 10,000 candy-filled eggs. The first 1,000 fans to enter the stadium will receive a raffle ticket and be entered to win Easter baskets filled with goodies.

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.