Smokies Top Biscuits, 11-5

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Biscuits (4-3) struck out a season-high 19 times, served up their third grand slam of the young season, and lost to the Tennessee Smokies (4-3), 11-5, on Friday night at Riverwalk Stadium.

21-year-old Anthony Molina made his second start of the season for the Biscuits, and the right-hander walked one and struck out another in a scoreless top of the first.

Jordan Wicks was on the bump for Tennessee, and the southpaw ran into trouble in the bottom of the first, loading the bases on a couple of walks and a dropped third strike. Wicks worked around the traffic, however, and still struck out the side while keeping the Biscuits off the board.

Molina struck out his second batter in the top of the second, but also surrendered a solo homer to on a line drive to straightaway center to Jordan Nwogu, who put Tennessee ahead, 1-0. Alika Williams’ RBI-double off the wall in left-center scored Blake Hunt, who singled to begin the bottom of the second, and tied the game at one. Wicks still struck out the side again to give the lefty six punchouts through the first two frames.

Molina spun a clean top of the third on a flyout and a couple of groundouts. Wicks struck out his seventh batter in the bottom of the third, but also walked Logan Driscoll before serving up a two-run homer to Heriberto Hernandez, who scorched one over the left field wall to make it a 3-1 contest. Later in the inning, Hunt clobbered a solo homer to right-center to increase the Biscuits lead to 4-1.

Molina struck out his third batter in a one-two-three top of the fourth, retiring eight-consecutive batters following the Nwogu homer. Hunter Bigge (2-0) then kept the Biscuits off the board in the bottom of the fourth.

The Smokies would mount a comeback in the top of the fifth against reliever Victor Munoz (0-1). Pete Crow-Armstrong’s RBI-double made it 4-2, and then Bryce Ball’s grand slam turned the game on its head, and handed Tennessee a 6-4 advantage. Biscuits pitchers have already given up three grand slams through the first seven games of the 2023 season.

The Biscuits would pull back a run in the bottom of the sixth inning thanks to four-straight two-out walks that made it a 6-5 game. Nelson Maldonado increased the Smokies advantage back to two at 7-5 with a two-out RBI-single to right in the top of the seventh against Munoz, before Jack Snyder came on to relieve the righty and make his Double-A debut. An Owen Caissie RBI-single off Snyder, also in the seventh, made it an 8-5 tilt.

The Smokies would add two more runs in the top of the eighth courtesy of a Crow-Armstrong RBI-triple and a Chase Strumph RBI-double. Tennesse tallied their final run off Biscuit catcher Erik Ostberg, who came on to pitch the ninth, surrendering an RBI-single to BJ Murray to make it 11-5.

The Biscuits will try to rebound against the Smokies on Saturday when Cole Wilcox (0-0) faces off against Ben Brown (0-0) on Jackie Robinson Day & The Nine Night & MAX Fireworks at 6:05 PM.

The series finale will include Lil' Crumbs T-Shirt Giveaway presented by AKD on Sunday, April 16.