SOUTHERN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP: Deciding Game 3 halted by rain with Barons holding 5-1 lead; continuation Thursday with free admission

Biscuits starting pitcher TJ Nichols attempts to tag Rikuu Nishida at the plate after a wild pitch, giving the Birmingham Barons a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning in Game 3 of the SLCS. (Staff photo)

By GRAHAM DUNN

If the Montgomery Biscuits are to end their drought of Southern League Championship titles, they will need another day to earn it.

And they will need a few more runs.

The deciding Game 3 of the series with the Birmingham Barons was interrupted by a driving rain storm on Wednesday with the visitors owning a 5-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning at Riverwalk Stadium.

The Biscuits were batting in the bottom of the fifth and had began a rally, scoring their first run of the game on a Brock Jones single off Barons starter Hagen Smith with nobody out. They had runners at first and second when home plate umpire Chandler Durham signaled all of the players to leave the field right before the deluge began.

The Barons, who are looking for their second-straight SL title, took the lead off Biscuits starter TJ Nichols in the top of the third on a wild pitch that scored Rikuu Nishida.

In the same inning, a Biscuits error allowed Ryan Galanie to reach and Caden Conner followed with a single to drive in William Bergolla to give Birmingham a 2-0 lead.

The Barons added three more to their lead in the top of the fifth on a bases-clearing double by Jordan Sprinkle.

Since the game had not played a full five innings, the Barons could not be declared the winner. During the rain delay, discussions originally centered on minor league guidelines that did not permit the final game of the championship series to be extended to the next day. But officials chose instead to continue the game on Wednesday, picking it up where it left off in the fifth.

Therefore the completion of Game 3 will take place Thursday at 12:05 p.m. at Riverwalk. The gates will be open to the public with the admission free of charge.

The Biscuits are looking to earn its first Southern League title since 2007.

Gates open at 11:30 a.m. Thursday. No ticket will be necessary to enter.