Dean, Jenista Homer in 4-2 Loss to Lookouts on Thursday

Published 12:02 pm Friday, September 17, 2021

CHATTANOOGA, TN – For the second-straight night, the Chattanooga Lookouts rallied in the bottom of the eighth to beat the Mississippi Braves 4-2 Thursday. On Thursday night, the knockout blow was a two-run home run by Lookouts catcher Jay Schuyler.

The win for Chattanooga keeps the Lookouts in the hunt for the second Championship Series spot. For a second-straight day, Montgomery and Birmingham were postponed by rain, and Chattanooga trails Birmingham by just two games, with three to play.

The M-Braves (66-44) struck first in the top of the third inning courtesy of Justin Dean. On an 0-1 pitch, Dean launched a ball over the wall in left-centerfield to give the M-Braves a 1-0 lead. The homer was Dean’s eighth on the season.

The Lookouts (58-53) took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Lorenzo Cedrola and Wilson Garcias recorded back-to-back singles with one out. Then, after a walk to Robbie Tenerowicz, Matt Lloyd laced a two-RBI double off the left-centerfield wall to give the Lookouts a 2-1 lead. The two runs given up by Freddy Tarnok ended a 19 inning streak of not giving up an earned run.

Greyson Jenista quickly responded for the M-Braves by destroying a ball over the right-centerfield wall to open the fifth inning and tie the game at 2. Jenista’s 19th home run had a 109 mile per hour exit velocity and went 451 feet. With 142 homers on the season, the M-Braves are now five away from matching the 24-year-old franchise record set by the 1997 Greenville Braves. t

Corbin Clouse started the bottom of the fifth inning-ending Tarnok’s night. Tarnok finished with 4.0 innings, three hits, two walks, five strikeouts, and two earned runs in his ninth M-Braves start. Since joining the M-Braves on July 20, his 2.60 ERA leads the league.

The Lookouts scored in the bottom of the eighth for the second night in a row. Quincy McAfee started the bottom half of the inning with a walk, and Schuyler followed with a two-run game-winning home run. The homer was the first allowed by Indigo Diaz (L, 2-1) this season. Brandon White put up a scoreless inning of relief to finish the Braves pitching.

The M-Braves were held to just three hits on Thursday night by four Chattanooga pitchers.

Game four of the final series of the regular season is Friday night at AT&T Field in Chattanooga. RHP Spencer Strider (3-7, 5.09) will start for the M-Braves against Chattanooga RHP Dylan Baker (0-1, 5.53). The first pitch is set for 6:15 pm CT with coverage on 103.9 WYAB, mississippibraves.com, MiLB First Pitch App, and MiLB.TV.

Tickets for all potential 2021 Double-A South Championship Series games at Trustmark Park are on sale now! The top two teams from the Double-A South (regardless of division), based on winning percentage, meet in a best-of-five series for the league championship. The M-Braves have clinched the regular-season title and home-field advantage for Game 3, Game 4 (if necessary), and Game 5 (if necessary). Games one and two of the Championship Series will be played at the second seed’s ballpark.

For individual tickets or to book a group for the 2021 Championship Series, visit mississippibraves.com, or call 888-BRAVES4.