Biscuits baseball, Thursday April 9

Yesterday it was the home opener of the 2015 Southern League season for the Montgomery Biscuits.

The club moved from Orlando, Florida to Montgomery in 2004. Two years later, in 2006, the club celebrated it’s first Southern League championship and had a repeat in 2007.

The BIscuits take the field at the start of the game on Opening Day (photo by Mickey Welsh/Montgomery Advertiser)

In their home opener, the BIscuits trailed most of the game. The Chattanooga Lookouts took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth. Levi Michael led off the fifth and was hit by a pitch. Even though pitcher Jaime Schultz threw a wild pitch, Byron Buxton struck out but Michael advanced to second on the erroneous pitch. Michael touched homeplate on a fly ball single to center field hit by Jorge Polanco. While Miguel Sano struck out swinging, Jorge Polanco stole second base and eventually scored the Lookouts’ second run on a single by Dalton Hicks.

In the top of the ninth, the Lookouts scored another run and the outlook of the game for Montgomery was very bleak; especially when they got runners on third three times but failed to score. In the top of the ninth, the Lookouts replaced relief pitcher Jake Reed, who had kept the Biscuits hitless for 0.2 innings, with Nick Burdi. This appeared to be a bad move. Burdi started the ninth with giving up a walk to Richie Shaffer followed by a wild pitch, that advanced Shaffer to second and another walk to Patrick Leonard. A grounder to left field by Justin O’Conner loaded the bases with no outs. But then Burdi recovered and struck out the next two batters. With one more out to end the game, Burdi walked the next two batters (Johnny FIeld and Thomas Coyle) and so the Biscuits came within one run from tying the game. It won’t come as a surprisethat Burdi was replaced. His successor, Cole Johnson gave up the game winning hit to the first batter he faced. Boog Powell singled to singled to center field on a line drive and drove in Justin O’Conner and Johnny Field for the game tying and game winning run.

Boog Powell is mobbed by his team mates after driving in the winning run (photo by Mickey Welsh/ Montgomery Advertiser)

Despite giving up the third run to the Lookouts in the ninth, reliever Parker Markel earned the win (W 1-0, 9.00 ERA). Starting pitcher Jaime Schultz pitched 4.2 innings in which he allowed two runs on five hits. He also walked two but fanned nine.

Best hitter for the Biscuits was center fielder Boog Powell. He went 3 for 4, with two runs batted in. He drew one walk and struck out once.

As far as I can remember, it is a long time ago that the Biscuits won the season opener.