SOUTHERN LEAGUE PLAYOFFSNorth DivisionChattanooga vs. TennesseeToday at Tennessee 7:15Friday at Tennessee 7:15Saturday at Chattanooga 7:15Sunday* at Chattanooga 7:15Monday* at Chattanooga 7:15* If necessary
Success in the Southern League playoffs often is determined by late-season momentum, and the Chattanooga Lookouts have no shortage of that.
The Lookouts (77-62 overall, 42-27 second half) will enter tonight's North Division playoff opener at Tennessee (83-57, 40-30) on a five-game winning streak. The two teams played nine times at Smokies Park during the second half, with Chattanooga winning six of the meetings.
"There is definitely a lot of confidence with the way we've been playing, especially offensively," said Lookouts starting pitcher Will Savage, who led the league with 12 wins. "I've won a couple of championships in the past when I was with the Phillies, and we always won the second half and we always finished very strong. I've kind of been spreading the message with the guys that when you finish strong, it's a good sign for the playoffs, because whoever is hot usually ends up winning it.
"There is just a really good vibe in our clubhouse right now."
That vibe has been noticeable for quite some time. Since June 6, when the Lookouts were 26-32 late in the first half, they have reeled off 51 victories in 81 games for a 63-percent win clip.
Chattanooga has lost just two of 10 series since July 8, with both of those coming against Mobile. The BayBears finished with the league's best overall (84-54) and second-half (46-22) records.
"You keep the developmental perspective in mind, because you want to see how the prospects play and hopefully come through, but there is no doubt it's about winning now," Lookouts manager Carlos Subero said. "The way I look at it is don't change anything we've done that has got us to this point, so we need to keep playing the same way."
Stephen Fife (3-0, 4.01) will start tonight for the Lookouts, with Chris Withrow (6-6, 4.20) scheduled Friday and Allen Webster (6-3, 5.04) on Saturday, when the series shifts to AT&T FIeld.