MOBILE, Alabama - With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Chattanooga's Jeremy Hazelbaker on second after a double and Mobile holding a one-run lead, Lookouts' cleanup hitter O'Koyea Dickson skipped the ball down the third-base line. But instead becoming a game-tying single into left field, the ball struck third base and bounced high into the air. Mobile third baseman Jake Lamb gathered it in, and Hazelbaker had to stop at third.
Mobile reliever Jake Barrett then retired Brian Cavazos-Galvez on a foul popup to clinch the BayBears' 4-3 victory.
David Peralta's third hit of the game delivered the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning for Mobile.
The Lookouts had rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game in the top of the eighth, and the BayBears had sent the minimum of 18 batters to the plate in the previous six innings.
Chattanooga starting pitcher Tyler Brummett had not given up an earned run in three road games this season entering the Southern League contest at Hank Aaron Stadium. The Mobile BayBears needed two batters to score the first one.
The first four Mobile batters of the game got hits off Brummett, and the first three scored. Belza opened the bottom of the first with a triple down the right-field line. He scored on Montilla's infield hit. Peralta followed with a single to right before Dustin Martin doubled off the right-field wall to plate the second run. Chattanooga third baseman Ozzie Martinez made a diving stop of Daniel Bowman's hot grounder, jumped up and tried to throw Peralta out at the plate. But his throw hit Peralta square in the back and bounced away as he scored the third run.
Brummett lasted five more innings after his rocky first and faced the minimum of 15 batters thanks to three double plays.
Mobile starter A.J. Schugel blanked the Lookouts for 6.1 innings, even though Chattanooga got three hits in the first inning and advanced runners to third in three of the first four frames.
Darnell Sweeney led off the game with a single to right, Erisbel Arruebarrena reached on an infield hit and Hazelbaker beat out a bunt to load the bases. Schugel then struck out Dickson and Cavazos-Galvez and got Chris O'Brien to fly out.
The Lookouts got back in the game in the eighth off reliever Jimmie Sherfy, who walked Hazelbaker and hit Dickson to start the inning. O'Brien doubled off the left-field fence to cut Mobile's lead to 3-2. With two outs, Noel Cuevas' hard hit glanced off Sherfy on its way to center field to tie the game.
At 25-16, the BayBears hold a three-game lead over Missisippi and Montgomery in the South Division. At 16-25, the Lookouts are tied with Birmingham for the bottom spot in the North Division.