Biscuits back home for series against Biloxi Shuckers
First year manager manager Kevin Boles, Willy Vasquez and the Montgomery Biscuits return home for a six-game series against Biloxi beginning Tuesday at Riverwalk Stadium. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
The Montgomery Biscuits return home after a 12-game road trip for the final three series in the first half of the Southern League schedule, poised to see if they can reverse team history with an elusive first-half championship.
The Biscuits have been in first place in the Southern League South Division for the last 18 days and have a 2.5-game lead over Pensacola with 18 games remaining. In the previous 19 seasons of existence, the Biscuits have only won the first-half title twice, waiting until the second half of the season to earn a playoff bid on nine other occasions.
“The team that we have in the field right now is definitely competitive,” Biscuits manager Kevin Boles said. “And one of our goals should be to make the playoffs and to go after it in the first half and not wait until the second half.”
The first-half winner clinches a berth in the Southern League divisional playoffs that begin on Sept. 17, facing the second-half winner in a best-of-three series to advance to the league championship series.
Montgomery hasn’t advanced to the championship series but twice under the current format, winning the Southern League title in 2006 and 2007.
This year’s team may be playing its best at the right time, winning five of six games at Mississippi last week, but the Biscuits also have been a mystery at times, winning a game 18-1 before losing 2-0 two days later or winning 15-2 earlier this season and dropping the next game 5-1.
“We haven’t been consistent in all areas,” Boles admitted before the latest road trip, “and usually it’s one or two of the three or four aspects of the game where we’re consistent. We’re looking to get everything consistent at the same time and we’ve shown spurts of that. We’ve had good stretches.
“But then we’ve had times when the pitching has struggled, times when the defense has struggled and the same with the hitting. Hopefully, we can get more consistent with all three.”
And while the common refrain among coaches is often, “that’s just baseball,” Boles refuses to believe the ups and downs experienced by the Biscuits this season is just part of the game.
“I don’t look at it like, ‘it’s just baseball,’” he said. “You’re on a mission to make sure you get as consistent as possible in as short amount of time as possible so they can become big leaguers.”
The Biscuits host the Biloxi Shuckers in a six-game series this week at Riverwalk Stadium. On Tuesday, it’s $4 tacos and select 16-ounce beers at the Golden Sombrero; on Wednesday, active, veteran and retired military receive admission, food and drink discounts; on Thursday, there will be a Bacon Hawaiian T-shirt giveaway to the first 1,000 fans 15 and older, plus half off on domestic drafts and souvenir sodas; on Friday, it will be Nate and Josh Lowe bobblehead giveaways to the first 1,000 fans; on Saturday, 80s Night will include a fireworks show after the game; and on Sunday, there will be a Biscuits ‘shirsey’ giveaway to the first 500 kids 14 and younger.
After a week with the Shuckers, the Biscuits will go on the road for six games at Chattanooga before closing out the first half of the season at home with the North Division-leading Birmingham Barons.