Tennessee Smokies Fall in Game Three of Southern League Championship Series

Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate Tennessee could not take either of the final two games in the Southern League Championship, ending its season on a down note.

Author:
Payton Havermann
Publish date:
Sep 29, 2022 9:03 PM EDT

In this story:

Chicago Cubs

The season came to an end for both Chicago Cubs Triple-A affiliate Iowa and Double-A Tennessee. For the Tennessee Smokies, it ended in gutting do-or-die game three against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos by a score of 11-4. Just one week after overcoming a 1-0 deficit in the division series, Tennessee blew a 1-0 series lead of its own.

The game had a bizarre start, as Blue Wahoos starter Eury Perez struck out the first eight batters of the game while Pensacola's offense grabbed two runs in the first three innings. But suddenly, Tennessee's offense came to life. The Smokies had five-straight batters reach base and three-straight runs scored, capped off by a Nelson Maldonado two RBI-single that gave Tennessee a 3-2 lead after three innings.

Smokies starter Ben Brown, acquired at the trade deadline in exchange for David Robertson, had Tennessee in a good position to win, finishing with just one earned run allowed and six strikeouts. However, for the second-straight day, the normally safe Tennesse bullpen imploded.

Pensacola scored four runs in the fifth off Blake Whitney, and another four runs off Bailey Horn, who tossed two perfect innings for the save in game one, in the seventh. That wound up being the final nail in the coffin, as the Blue Wahoos secured the 11-4 win for their first ever league title, ending a promising Smokies season on a sour note.

Also on the farm:

Triple-A: Iowa Cubs (68-81) vs Toledo Mud Hens (87-63): W 4-2

This was Iowa's final game of the season.
Iowa hit three home runs. Alex Canario hit his 37th of the season, Brennen Davis hit his fourth, and Jared Young hit a walk-off two-run home run for his 17th of the year.
Iowa's bullpen trio of Cayne Ueckert, Cam Sanders, and Kyle Johnson combined to pitch six shutout innings, walking two batters and allowing just one hit while punching out nine. Sanders in particular stood out, hitting triple digits and ending the year on a good run.
Darius Hill went 3-for-5, finishing the year with 166 hits and tying him for the hit crown in minor league baseball.

Double-A: Tennessee Smokies (1-2) vs Pensacola Blue Wahoos (2-1): L 11-4

Cole Roederer went 2-for-3 with a walk and a homer, ending his postseason batting .429 and with an OPS of 1.667.
Riley Martin tossed a scoreless 1.2 innings, striking out a pair of batters. He was the only Smokies pitcher not to allow a run.
Luis Vasquez went 2-for-3, finishing the postseason batting .273.