The Lookouts trailed by a run entering the bottom of the ninth -- headed for their third consecutive loss. Chattanooga rallied for two runs to pull the game out, 5-4.
Thursday night, the Chattanooga Lookouts (9-12) started a 10-game home stand against the Birmingham Barons (10-11) before a packed stadium with a crowd of 5,576.
Before the game's exciting finish, the Barons jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second inning after a solo home run by their leadoff batter, Micah Johnson.
It wasn’t long before Lookouts' outfielder Scott Schebler cut the lead in half with his own solo shot that went 388 feet to right-center in the bottom of the inning.
In the third inning the Barons compiled four singles from five straight batters, scoring two more runs and lengthening the lead to 4-1. That was all the scoring the Barons would muster, leaving the door open for a Chattanooga comeback. Sweeney added his own solo home run in the fifth inning and Schebler snuck his second solo home run of the night just over the wall in right field in the sixth to cut the Barons' lead down to one.
After their bats came alive the Lookouts were held scoreless until the bottom of the ninth inning. With the Lookouts down a run, Razor Shines looked to the bench to get the inning started, bringing Chris O’Brien in to pinch-hit. The red-hot catcher led off the inning by hitting a double into the gap. Sweeney, who was 3-for-5 on the night, laced a single out to center, scoring O’Brien and running all the way around to third base when the Barons center fielder misplayed the ball. Two batters later, Mayora hit the ball into the outfield, getting a single for the first game-winning win at AT&T Field in 2014.
It was an exciting end to a great game and the Lookouts look to continue their momentum by sending RHP Tyson Brummett (1-1, 0.56 ERA) against RHP Chris Beck (2-2, 2.91 ERA) for the Barons on Fireworks Night at 7:15 p.m.
Notes: Daniel Mayora, with his game-winning hit in the ninth, now has four consecutive multi-hit games, going 8-for-19 (.421) in those games. He also has reached base safely in 18 of the 20 games that he’s played in this year.