The Chattanooga Lookouts came up short in their bid to win the Southern League's North Division first-half title.
Their quest for a second-half crown begins Thursday night at AT&T Field.
Chattanooga entered its final first-half series needing to win five of six games at division-leading Montgomery but instead lost five of six, which resulted in the Biscuits polishing off a shiny 44-26 record and the Lookouts sliding to 36-33. The late tailspin enabled the Jackson Generals to race past Chattanooga into second with a 39-31 mark.
The Lookouts played their final 11 first-half games on the road and will have their first 10 second-half contests at home, beginning with the Birmingham Barons at 7:15 Thursday evening. The Barons had the league's worst first-half record at 27-42, so Chattanooga has an opportunity for a quick rebound.
Chattanooga finished the first half with a .258 team batting average, which led the 10-member league. Shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez ranks among the league's top five with his .304 average in 64 games, while second baseman Brantley Bell and center fielder Jose Siri each hit .270 in the first half.
Lookouts left fielder and top Cincinnati Reds prospect Taylor Trammell hit .245 in the first half after a .292 April, but Trammell's 42 walks rank second within the league. First baseman Ibandel Isabel leads the league with 14 home runs, which is an impressive feat given that the first baseman has been on the injury list since June 7.
Chattanooga ranks eighth in the league with a 3.94 team earned run average, but the Lookouts were last after the first month with a 5.22 clip. The Lookouts are moving forward without Tejay Antone, who had a team-high seven victories but was promoted earlier this week to Triple-A Louisville.
As for the attendance rankings, Chattanooga finished the half fifth in the league with an average AT&T audience of 3,616. The Lookouts trailed Birmingham (5,720), Jacksonville (4,740), Pensacola (4,355) and Tennessee (3,710).
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.