Chattanooga Lookouts victorious after trying trip

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The Chattanooga Lookouts were victorious at AT&T Field on Thursday night, defeating Birmingham 5-4 after playing six games in five days.

Sort of.

Chattanooga officially took three of five games in Jackson this week, but Monday night's 7-4 triumph over the Generals lasted 18 innings and took five hours and 17 minutes to complete. The Southern League record for innings played is 23, which has occurred on two occasions.

"After the 10th inning, it kind of became fun," Lookouts catcher J.C. Boscan said. "I wanted to win, but at the same time it was fun to be playing 11, 12, 13 and all the way through 18. It was kind of crazy, and I think it was a good experience. I'm definitely glad we won."

The Lookouts lost to the Generals on Tuesday and Wednesday but rallied past Birmingham before a crowd of 5,575. Chattanooga trailed the Barons 4-3 entering the bottom of the ninth but got a leadoff double to center field by Chris O'Brien, an RBI single to center by Darnell Sweeney and an RBI single to center by Daniel Mayora.

Wednesday marked the AT&T debut of Lookouts shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena, a Cuban defector who signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in February.

Chattanooga trailed Monday's marathon 3-0 but tied it with a three-run seventh inning. The Lookouts pounced in the 18th with a Sweeney double, a Mayora triple and a Scott Schebler home run to left, and they wound up getting scoreless innings of relief from Craig Stem, Juan Gonzalez, Hector Nelo, Raydel Sanchez and Juan Noriega.

"There was some good energy in the dugout, and our guys were going out there and throwing up zeros, so that was great," Lookouts pitching coach Scott Radinsky said. "We were fortunately in a position where we didn't have to use a whole lot of guys the next day, so it didn't hit us too bad."

The Lookouts and Generals played Tuesday morning at 11 CDT, so they wound up logging 27 innings in 18 hours. Wednesday was another lunchtime start, and the Lookouts appreciated having Wednesday night off before Thursday night's game.

"Last night was one of those nights you take advantage of," Boscan said. "You come back early and eat a good dinner and get some rest. Our bodies are ready to go every day, but mentally you get tired after a trip like that."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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