Rebel Ridling singled in the go-ahead run in the 7th inning as the Tennessee Smokies edged the Chattanooga Lookouts, 2-1.
Brooks Raley was untouchable early for Tennessee, maintaining a no-hitter into the fourth inning. Chattanooga touched him up for two runs and he did not figure in the decision.
The Smokies began a slow comeback with a run in each of three consecutive innings, capped with Ridling's RBI that drove in Logan Watkins with the game winner.
Here is more on the game from the Tennessee Smokies:
Rebel Ridling's RBI single in the seventh inning lifted the Tennessee Smokies to a 3-2 win over the Chattanooga Lookouts Friday night at Smokies Park. The win, in front of 4,019, improved the Smokies to 8-8 on the season. Chattanooga fell to 7-9.
With the two teams deadlocked at 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh and reliever Steven Ames (0-2) on the mound, Logan Watkins led off the inning with a double, and would advance to third on a single by Jae-Hoon Ha. Two batters later, Ridling drove in Watkins with a single to left field, driving in his fourth run of the season.
Tennessee's starter Brooks Raley was on top of his game Friday night, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning.
Chattanooga finally got to Raley in the top of the fifth. J.T. Wise and Blake Smith led the inning off with back-to-back singles and both would come around to score on a Griff Erickson two-RBI double, to give the Lookouts a 2-0 lead.
The Smokies would narrow the lead in the bottom of the inning. Nate Samson ripped an RBI ground-rule double to right-center to cut the deficit to 2-1, but with the bases loaded, Geison Aguasviva got pinch hitter Ty Wright to hit into an inning ending double play.
The Tennessee bats got right back to work in the sixth, after a Juan Apodaca single put Jonathan Mota in scoring position, Jim Adduci would drive him home with a pinch hit RBI single to tie up the ballgame.
Apodaca and Ha led Tennessee's 13-hit output, each going 2-for-3 with one walk.
That would be all the Smokies pitching staff would need on this night. Raley allowed two runs on three hits in six innings, walking one and striking out three. Neither starter factoring into the decision, with Kevin Rhoderick (1-2) turning in 1.2 innings in relief to earn the win. Alberto Cabrera walked the leadoff batter in the top of the ninth, but preserved the victory to notch his first save of the season.
The Smokies and Lookouts play Game 2 of the five-game set Saturday night at 6:15 p.m. at Smokies Park. Right-hander Nick Struck (1-1, 2,65) will take the mound for Tennessee and will be opposed by righty Allen Webster (1-2, 4.70). The first 2,000 fans into the gates will receive a free 2012 Smokies poster schedule, courtesy of Holiday Inn Express - Sevierville/Kodak, Windstream and VictorPrint. For tickets and more information, fan can visit www.smokiesbaseball.com or call (865) 286-2300.