The Walk-Off Sports Report

On Thursday (April 4th), the Mobile BayBears kick off their final season in Mobile, Alabama. The team will relocate to Madison, Alabama after this season and the BayBears are looking to finish in walk-off style. The BayBears have an opportunity in 2019 to tie the Montgomery Biscuits with four Southern League titles. The organization is currently fourth on the all-time SLCS victories. One last season at Hank Aaron Stadium, is this the year they walk-off with their fifth Southern League championship? In 2018, the Mobile BayBears were hiding in the bushes during the 2018 Walk-Off Sports Report Southern League Playoff Watch but the organization was eliminated from playoff contention rather early in the campaign. The organization finished 66-70, fourth in the South Division. The BayBears were second in runs scored per game and runs batted in during the 2018 season but the rest of the batting statistics were pretty low. Things just didn't add up for the organization and in 2019 they ...

The Montgomery Biscuits kick off their 2019 season on Thursday Night (April 4th) at AT&T Field in Chattanooga, Tennessee against the Chattanooga Lookouts. The Biscuits pushed it to the limit last season making it a 3-2 record in the 2018 Southern League North Division Championship Series against the eventual Southern League Championship winning Jackson Generals. This season, the Biscuits have one last chance at making history by winning the Southern League Championship representing both the North and South Division (in separate playoffs). Since the North/South era began in 2005, no team has ever represented both North and South Divisions in separate playoffs. Montgomery joins the Birmingham Barons as teams who have 50% of the equation complete. The Birmingham Barons have earned playoff berths by winning regular season halves in 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2011 but the team has never sealed the deal of a Southern League South Division Championship. In 2006, Montgome...

The 2019 Southern League baseball season is less than 100 days away. With the exception of coaching staffs and roster announcements, news could be a little slow during the final 100 days before the season kicks off. The biggest news entering the season is with the affiliation changes of the Chattanooga Lookouts and Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Both teams swapped their affiliations with Pensacola picking up the Minnesota Twins and Chattanooga picking up the Cincinnati Reds. The two teams seasons couldn't have been any different as the Blue Wahoos competed in the playoffs for the second straight season while the Lookouts failed to defend their 2017 co-championship finishing last in the North Division for the first time since 2013. Koelle:  Chattanooga Lookouts Looking to Avoid First Last Place Finish Since 2013 The change of affiliations could make for an interesting 2019 season for both teams and could see the two battle for the Southern League Championship at the end of the season....

BallCorps LLC announced on Thursday (October 25th) that the organization has purchased the naming and marketing rights of the former Huntsville Southern League Baseball Club, the Huntsville Stars. This could result in throwback nights, uniforms, and multiple other things to celebrate the historic past of the Stars. The organization is also in discussions of selling Huntsville Stars merchandise alongside the Trash Pandas gear. The new stadium in Madison, Alabama is a little over 10 miles away from Joe Davis Stadium, the former home of the Huntsville Stars. The Stars debuted in the Southern League in 1985 and remained in Huntsville until the end of the 2014 season where the team was moved to Biloxi, Mississippi (Biloxi Shuckers). During that time the Stars earned Division Titles in 1985, 1986, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2007. They were champions of the Southern Leauge in 1985, 1994, and 2001. From 1985 to 1998, the Stars were affiliated with the Oakland Athletics and from 1999...

Officials from the Tennesse Smokies announced the 2019 schedule for the Chicago Cubs affiliate on Wednesday, October 17th. The Smokies are one of the teams to kick off their 2019 season at home as they face the Mississippi Braves on Thursday, April 4th, 2019. The schedule is highlighted by 70 home games and 70 away games. The Chattanooga Lookouts and Tennessee Smokies will play a doubleheader on April 20th, 2019 the Saturday before Easter Sunday. 2019 will be the 20th season the Smokies have played at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tennessee. The Tennessee Smokies finished out the 2018 season 67-71 finishing third in the North Division Southern League standings. In 2018 the Smokies had the third best attendance numbers in the Southern Leauge at 308,069 with the third-best average attendance of 4,668. Game times and promotion schedules for 2019 will be announced at a later date.

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos announced on Monday, October 1st that they have signed a Player Development Contract with the Minnesota Twins for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. After the announcement that the Wahoos and Reds split ways, the Wahoos became the newest free-agent in the PDC world. From what began as multiple options came down to two teams, the San Diego Padres and the Minnesota Twins. "This is a rare time when there are no losers. The Padres and Twins are first class organizations," said Blue Wahoos president Jonathan Griffith in the release. "One would end up playing in the picturesque downtown Pensacola's Blue Wahoo Stadium and the other in a brand new 44 million ballpark in Amarillo, Texas. Both are great venues in great cities." "This was our first time going through this process it was beyond expectations," added Griffith. "The Padres and Twins were both great. We learned so much during the process on what we can do better based on how...

Officials from the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp announced on Wednesday that the team and city of Jacksonville have signed a lease extension to remain at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonvile through 2033. The Jacksonville City Council approved a new lease extension for the Miami Marlins Double-A affiliate. The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville broke ground in 2001 and was opened at the beginning of the 2003 season. Since that 2003 season, the Southern League playoffs have been hosted in Jacksonville in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2017. It has been home of the Southern League Champion Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp/Suns in 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2014. They will continue to play at the stadium through at least the 2033 season. “Since assuming control of the team in 2015 it has been one of our top priorities to work on a lease extension that confirms our commitment to Jacksonville,” said Jumbo Shrimp Owner Ken Babby in the team release. “Our fans have shown incredible support and loyalty ma...

The Chattanooga Lookouts entered 2018 as the defending Southern League co-champions after defeating the Montgomery Biscuits in the Southern League North Division Championship Series. The Lookouts shared the title with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos after the Southern League Championship Series was canceled due to Hurricane Irma. The Lookouts failed to gain an opportunity to defend that title after finishing third in the first-half and fifth in the second-half. The season finished with a 62-72 win-loss record which netted their first last-place finish in the North Division since 2013. Koelle - Chattanooga Lookouts Looking to Avoid First Last Place Finish Since 2013 Christian Koelle caught up with Hardball Capital CEO Jason Freier, owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts, to speak about the future of the Lookouts in Chattanooga and the successes of the 2018 season. 2018 was Freier's fourth year over the Chattanooga Lookouts and was the fourth year of the Minnesota/Chattanooga Player Devel...

The Birmingham Barons ended a two-year long streak of finishing last in the North Division this season. Despite not contending for the championship, 2018 was still a strong season filled with positives for the Barons to take into the 2019 season. One of the things that have helped the Barons as an organization that took time to develop was the "high-caliber prospects". The team has nabbed some of the higher end prospects which have created a well-balanced team with some standout prospects.  "Two years ago the White Sox made a commitment to trading veteran players for high-caliber prospects, in addition, continuing to draft highly rated amateur players," Barons General Manager Jonathan Nelson told The Walk-Off Sports Report.  "This commitment has been evident here in Birmingham on the field and across all levels of the White Sox organization. In 2018 fans in Birmingham witnessed one of the top prospects in all of Minor League Baseball in Eloy Jimenez along...

It took five innings for the Biloxi Shuckers to put up any offense but when it came, it came with a thunder. In the bottom of the eighth, Biloxi put up the tying run with a home run by Lucas Erceg and then the fans in attendance at Biloxi received a little extra baseball. In fact three extra innings of baseball with a ground-rule double in the bottom of the 12th sending the Shuckers in a frenzy and home with the victory. TJ Friedl Jr. homered in the top of the third to put Pensacola up 2-0. It took two innings for Biloxi to come back but with a sacrifice fly by Trent Grisham, Tyler Heineman scored knocking off one run of the deficit and ended Pensacola's run for a shutout. Pensacola attempted to put the game out of reach in the 7th with a home run by Taylor Featherston but Biloxi followed it up with another run making it 3-2. As noted above, Erceg belted a ball over the wall tying the game and with both teams defense stepping up, the game entered the 12th. On a ground-rule do...

The new Southern League franchise that will be located in Madison, Alabama has gained its name. BallCorps Inc. announced at Rocket Republic Brewing on Wednesday night. The organizations' name will be the Rocket City Trash Pandas. The Trash Pandas dominated both rounds of voting. With 45 percent of the votes, the Trash Pandas secured the entitlement name of the organization. ThunderSharks finished second with 19 percent while Moon Possums (13%), Space Chimps (12%), and Comet Jockeys (11%) rounded out the top five. “Our community is known for engineering, and no creature in our galaxy is as smart, creative, determined and ingenious a problem solver – dedicated to the challenge at hand – as our local raccoons!” - the explanation of the Trash Pandas name. "Rocket City" will be the identifier of the organization based in Madison after receiving 67% of the votes. "North Alabama" finished second with 18% while Madison only earned 15%. Per BallCorps, 28,560 nomi...

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos clinched their second straight playoff berth by having the second-best record overall in the South Division in 2018. A 69-68 overall record was the second best to the Biloxi Shuckers (81-59) who clinched both halves of the 2018 season. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are sitting in the same situation as the Montgomery Biscuits faced last season after the Chattanooga Lookouts clinched both halves. The Blue Wahoos have a big hill to climb if they want to successfully defend their 2017 Southern League Championship as they face a team who swept both halves of the season. Right fielder Aristides Aquino has the most home runs of the organization with 20 while Shed Long has the most runs at 75. Gavin LaValley has the most RBI's at 57. Koelle:  Pensacola Blue Wahoos Clinch Second Straight Playoff Appearance The Biloxi Shuckers pulled an impressive 2018 season campaign sweeping the halves of the season. The Shuckers had an 81-59 regular season win-loss re...

The new North Alabama baseball team may not be the only addition to the Southern League in the next few years. According to a report from the WWLTV CBS affiliate in New Orleans, Louisiana, a group of New Orleans investors hope to have a AA Minor League team in the Southern League by 2021. This report comes after another report that the New Orleans Baby Cakes will move to Witchita, Kansas when the lease at The Shrine On Airline in Metairie, Louisiana comes to an end in 2021. The Mobile BayBears will be relocating to Madison, Alabama following the 2019 season. Recent moves have included the Huntsville Stars move to Biloxi, Mississippi and the Carolina Mudcats move to Pensacola, Blue Wahoos (Carolina was moved down to A-Advanced). Currently in the Southern League is the Chattanooga Lookouts, Tennessee Smokies, Jackson Generals, Birmingham Barons, and Montgomery Biscuits highlighting the North Division while the Biloxi Shuckers, Mississippi Braves, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, ...

The Montgomery Biscuits return to the playoffs for the fourth straight season. The Biscuits play the Jackson Generals, the same team they faced in the 2016 Southern League North Division Championship Series in which the Generals went on to win the title. The Biscuits clinched their spot in the playoffs via the North Division Second-Half Championship in which the organization posted a strong run in the second half with a record of 42-28. In 2018, Montgomery has the fifth-most home runs in the league and leads the division in runs (699), triples (45), RBI's (655), and stolen bases (159). Nick Solak will lead the Biscuits into this playoff with the best batting average (.282), runs (91), home runs (19), and RBI's (76). Solak will be an important part if the Montgomery Biscuits want to make history by winning the North Division. J.D Martin takes the mound for game one, Brock Burke takes the mound for game two, and Benton Moss will take the mound in game three. J.D Martin will b...

The 2018 Southern League Regular Season has come to a close. On an event filled Monday Afternoon, two teams learned their fate for the 2018 Southern League Playoffs. While other teams were looking to end the season with one final win. Monday was a bittersweet day for six teams as their season came to a close. Here is the final 2018 edition of the Southern League Playoff Watch. North Division Playoff Picture As the regular season came to a close, The Tennessee Smokies made the day that could've been something of a big deal for the Blue Wahoos. The Smokies defeated the Blue Wahoos 3-0 ultimately giving the Biloxi Shuckers the second-half championship.  The Chattanooga Lookouts ended the season with a victory against the Jackson Generals 4-2 but weren't able to pull out of the last place spot earning their first last-place finish since 2013.  The Birmingham Barons also earned the victory and was able to keep their head above water earning their best finish in the...

The Biloxi Shuckers have clinched the second-half championship in the Southern League South Division. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos lost to the Tennessee Smokies securing the second-half championship for the Shuckers. The Blue Wahoos though will be the Shuckers challenger in the SLSDS beginning on Wednesday. They get in via the South Division Wild Card with the second-best overall record in the division. The Biloxi Shuckers will return to the postseason for the first time since 2015. During that series, the organization battled against the Chattanooga Lookouts in five games, coming up short. Fittingly, the Biloxi Shuckers faced off against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos during that season. Biloxi swept the Blue Wahoos in that series three games to none. The Series kicks off in Biloxi on Wednesday, September 5th at MGM Stadium. Games one and two will be in Biloxi and three will be in Montgomery. Four and five will return to MGM Stadium if they're necessary. (Koelle,2018)

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos will be competing for the Southern League South Division Championship for the second straight season. Despite being eliminated from winning the South Division second-half Championship after Biloxi's victory against the Birmingham Barons, The Wahoos clinched the South Division Wild-Card Championship. The Blue Wahoos will face the Biloxi Shuckers beginning on Wednesday, September 5th at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. The first two games of the series will be at MGM Park in Biloxi while game three will be at Blue Wahoos Stadium on September 7th. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos battled the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in a three-game series for the South Division title in 2015. They defeated Jacksonville in three games to earn the South Division title and after Hurricane Irma caused the cancellation of the Southern League Championship Series, Pensacola was named co-champions alongside the Chattanooga Lookouts. It was their first SL title since becoming the Wahoos...

Everything is coming down to the wire for both sides. The Biloxi Shuckers and Pensacola Blue Wahoos will decide who wins the second half championship on Monday. The Shuckers dropped Sunday's game against Birmingham while the Blue Wahoos defeated the Tennessee Smokies making the margin between first and second 0.5 games. Either way, it was decided on Sunday that it'll be the Biloxi Shuckers vs. the Pensacola Blue Wahoos for the South Division Championship as the Whoos will at least win the Wild Card should Biloxi win the second-half championship. North Division Playoff Picture The Montgomery Biscuits have good momentum heading into their game against Jackson on Wednesday as they swept the Mobile BayBears in their doubleheaders. The other side of that equation also gained some momentum with the Jackson Generals defeating the Chattanooga Lookouts.  The Tennessee Smokies were defeated by the Pensacola Blue Wahoos creating one of the best final days of the regular seaso...

As the Southern League approaches the end of the regular season, every team in the league is chasing everything they can get. Montgomery is looking to gain as much momentum as they can before Wednesday but wasn't able to as the Biscuits/BayBears game was postponed to Sunday. With a victory against Tennessee, The Pensacola Blue Wahoos will play the Biloxi Shuckers starting on Wednesday. It's their second straight trip to the playoffs. North Division Playoff Picture While the division-leading Montgomery Biscuits didn't play on Saturday night, the rest of the league had an opportunity to make up some lost ground. The only team that did so though was the Jackson Generals, who defeated the Chattanooga Lookouts.  Birmingham lost to Biloxi and Tennessee lost to Pensacola basically meaning no teams were able to make up ground, but at this point, it doesn't matter as Montgomery already clinched the second half title.  North Division Standings - Games Behind - Elimina...

Friday's action in the southern league was highlighted by teams snapping winless streaks, teams extending their lead, and a little modification to the South Division. With many teams just facing three days left of action, the intensity will hit an all-time high if it hasn't already. These final games are must wins in order to gain everything possible before the clock strikes zero on the 2018 regular season.  North Division Playoff Picture The Chattanooga Lookouts defeated the Jackson Generals 4-1 in Jackson marking the first victory for the Lookouts since Monday night against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Also picking up their first victory since Monday was the Tennessee Smokies. The Smokies defeated the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3-2 in Friday's contest. Montgomery defeated the Mobile BayBears after packing on runs late with a 5-3 result. Birmingham was shutout by the Biloxi Shuckers being the only team from the North Division to drop a game.  North Division St...