Cedric De Grandpre tied his career high of 7.0 innings in a start that pushed the Columbus Clingstones (13-8, 42-43) to a 5-2 win over the Chattanooga Lookouts (9-12, 46-44) in the series finale on Sunday at Erlanger Park. Columbus took the series 2-1.
Decisive Plays: A leadoff double from Jay Allen II led to the first run for Chattanooga in the first inning. Columbus fired back with solo home runs from Carson Taylor (1) and Ambioris Tavarez (7) to take the lead in the second inning. Columbus added a run on an RBI groundout from Luke Waddell in the third inning, Taylor scored on a balk in the fourth, and Waddell drove in another run in the fifth with a double. Pitching with a 5-1 lead, De Grandpre (W, 4-1) completed 7.0 innings and struck out seven. Chattanooga scratched in a run in the ninth inning but the comeback attempt fizzled out.
Key Contributors: De Grandpre (7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO) led Columbus on the mound while Waddell (1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Taylor (2-for-4, 2B, HR, RBI), and Tavarez (1-for-3, HR, RBI) led the Clingstones at the plate. For Chattanooga, Ruben Ibarra had the only RBI.
Notable: Columbus claimed its first series win against Chattanooga, and its sixth series victory of the season. De Grandpre tossed a single-game career high 97 pitches. The Clingstones have recorded 241 strikeouts over the first 21 games of the second half, an average of 11.5 per game.
Next Game (Tuesday, July 21): Columbus at Pensacola, 7:05 p.m. ET at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Starting pitchers are TBD for the series opener. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on SportsVisions 92.1 FM. Stream: Bally Sports Live.