Spirits were high and optimism was flowing at AT&T Field on Tuesday prior to the series opener between the Chattanooga Lookouts and the Montgomery Biscuits.
After all, the Lookouts had beaten the Birmingham Barons five of six times on the road and had won seven of their last 10 games and three in a row.
But all of that optimism was dampened in a hurry when second baseman Brett Wisely tripled on the first pitch of the game.
Two pitches later, he scampered home with the first run after Greg Jones grounded out to second and the Biscuits were on their way to winning their fourth straight game with the 9-3 victory.
Montgomery is still in first place in the AA South’s South division with a record of 21-13 while the Lookouts remain in last place in the North with a second-half record of 12-22.
Ricky Salinas was the starting pitcher for the Lookouts and he lasted just two innings after allowing four runs on four hits while walking four and striking out just one.
Southpaw Connor Curlis didn’t fare much better as he too allowed four runs on four hits in 3.1 innings.
The Biscuits didn’t score again until they added a final run in the ninth, but those eight runs in the first three innings were more than enough to win the game.
The top half of Montgomery’s lineup did all the damage as Jones, Osleivis Basabe, Kameron Misner and Kyle Manzardo followed Wisely with two hits apiece.
Jones’ groundout, a Chattanooga error and a bases-loaded walk to Diego Infante accounted for Montgomery’s three runs in the first while a double from Manzardo drove in Basabe in the second.
The Biscuits blew the game open with four more runs in the third, two on a double by Basabe, one on a double by Misner and one on a single by Jones.
The Lookouts actually had more hits than did Montgomery by a 10-9 count, but unlike the Biscuits, the Lookouts were unable to put any of them together.
Alex McGarry got the Lookouts on the board in the second with a solo homer to right, his 14th of the season.
Elly De La Cruz drove in Michael Siani with a double in the fifth while Daniel Vellojin’s double in the ninth drove in Nick Quintana, who had reached on a one-out single.
Quintana and Vellojin were the only Chattanooga players with more than one hit as they finished with three and two, respectively.
Joe LaSorsa picked up the win with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief where he allowed just one hit.
Salinas was the loser and is now 3-4 for the season.
The second game of the series will be played Wednesday night with the first pitch scheduled somewhere near 7:15.
MONTGOMERY 313 000 001 – 9 9 1
CHATTANOOGA 010 010 001 – 3 10 1
McKendry, LaSorsa (5), Gau (8), Gross (9) and Hunt; Salinas, Curlis (3), Byrne (6), Olson (9) and Vellojin.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)