The Chattanooga Lookouts continued their blistering start with an afternoon victory at the Knoxville Smokies by the score of 8-4. With the win Chattanooga has now won six straight and have won fourteen of their first seventeen games. They have a six game lead in the division thanks in large part to their league leading pitching staff who have allowed only 66 runs combined in the team's first seventeen games.
After giving up two runs in the bottom of the first inning the Lookouts bounced back with a run in the second with Cam Collier scoring on an Austin Hendrick single. Leo Balcazar led off the third inning with a solo shot, his third of the season. Later in the inning Cam Collier doubled home Zavier Warren to give Chattanooga a 3-2 lead.
The Lookouts were blanked for the next four innings and Knoxville led by a run heading into the eighth when the offense exploded for five runs to pull away. Ruben Ibarra reached on a hit by pitch followed by a Cam Collier walk. Jay Allen bunted to move the runners up and beat it out for a single to load the bases with nobody out. Cade Hunter's fielder's choice brought in the first run of the inning. Four of the next five hitters singled to make it an 8-4 lead.
After a rough start from Kevin Abel three pitchers combined for four and a third innings of scoreless work with Simon Miller picking up his first victory of the season.
The two teams meet up at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday before the concluding game of the series Sunday at 2 p.m.