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Covenant Health Park is officially open. Knox News takes you inside!
Joanna Hayes takes viewers inside Covenant Health Park. The Smokies kicked off their return to Knoxville with their first game April 15.
A bases-loaded, extra-innings sacrifice fly was enough for the Chattanooga Lookouts to outlast the Knoxville Smokies 3-2 in the June 8 series finale, the final game at Covenant Health Park before a 12-game Smokies road trip.
Jaxon Wiggins pitched another solid game for the Smokies, fanning eight in five scoreless innings while only giving up four hits and walking none. This time, Knoxville provided support early in the second inning when a wild pitch moved Ethan Hearn and Jaylen Palmer into scoring position. Parker Chavers grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Hearn from third, putting the Smokies on the board first.
In his second game with the Smokies, Eriandys Ramon hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to give him two hits and two RBIs in his first two days.
His single brought an end to a brief scoring lull and gave Knoxville a 2–0 lead until the Lookouts tied the game in the eighth. Antonia Santos, who replaced Wiggins for the Smokies, gave up a base hit to Cade Hunter before Austin Hendrick blasted a two-run, game-tying homer to right field − his sixth of the season.
Palmer led off the ninth with a single to center, increasing the Smokies’ chance for a walk off. But Chattanooga immediately turned a double play on the next pitch, and catcher Casey Opitz struck out to send the game to extras.
In the top of the 10th, with a runner starting on second, Cade Hunter flew out to advance the go-ahead runner. Hendrick was hit by a pitch, and another walk loaded the bases. Edwin Arroyo popped up a sacrifice fly to the left field that allowed Dominic Pitelli to score what ultimately became the winning run.
Knoxville could not counter in the bottom half. After Opitz advanced to third on a groundout by Ramon, Brett Bateman lined out to third to end the game.
The Smokies fall to 1–7 in extra innings this season and remain winless in extra-inning home games.
With the loss, Knoxville (26–30) wraps up the homestand and now begins a 12-game road trip. The Smokies play Columbus and Biloxi before returning home to Covenant Health Park on June 24.
Knox News reporter Gabriel Jackson covers the Knoxville Smokies and One Knox SC. Email: gabriel.jackson@knoxnews.com.
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