Mitch Atkins kept the Chattanooga Lookouts guessing for seven innings Friday, and the Tennessee Smokies gave him just enough run support for a 3-2 win, their fourth in the five-game series at AT&T Field.

A crowd of 5,775 saw the Lookouts lose for the seventh time in nine games.

“We keep finding new ways to lose,” manager Mike Goff said.

The right-handed Atkins held Chattanooga (18-17) to a run on two hits (both doubles) in 7 1/3 innings, striking out eight and walking two.

“I pretty much had every pitch working,” said Atkins (3-1). “Since everything was going good, I had confidence in every pitch I threw.”

The Lookouts were still in the game thanks to Ben Jukich (2-2), who also pitched 7 1/3 strong innings. Jukich allowed two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and four walks.

Two ninth-inning defensive mistakes were the difference. Robert Manuel got the first two Smokies batters out in the top of the inning and appeared to have the third when Matt Camp popped up in foul territory. But catcher Chris Kroski and first baseman Tonys Gutierrez didn’t communicate and the ball dropped in the small patch of grass between them.

Camp caught another break when third baseman Jerry Gil misplayed his sharp grounder. Two batters later, Robinson Chirinos delivered an RBI single for a 3-1 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, facing closer Rocky Roquet, the Lookouts got a one-out double from Chris Valaika and Gutierrez walked. After Gil struck out on three pitches, Sean Henry slapped a single to right, scoring Valaika. Roquet then struck out Cody Strait to end the game.

“Both starters did a great job, and the game always comes down to the small things,” Goff said. “We drop a popup there in the ninth inning, and we’ve found every way we can to lose the last two weeks. It makes you sick to your stomach to get a starting performance like that out of Jukich and he ends up getting a (loss).”

Jukich gave up a leadoff double and a two-out walk in the second inning but struck out Atkins. Gutierrez doubled to lead off the bottom of the inning and Strait drew a two-out walk, but Kroski, who had just joined the Lookouts from Triple-A Louisville, grounded out to first.

Chris Denove was reassigned to high Single-A Sarasota to make room for Kroski, who went 0-for-2 in his second Lookouts game of the season. He went 0-for-3 with an RBI against Montgomery on April 6.

Steve Clevenger put the Smokies in front 1-0 in the fourth with a double over the head of Henry in left field, scoring Jake Fox from first base.

The Smokies got another run in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk by Derrik Lutz, but the Lookouts answered in the bottom of the inning when pinch hitter B.J. Szymanski hit a bloop single to center field, scoring Strait from third.

Sam LeCure (1-2, 6.32 ERA) is scheduled to start Chattanooga’s series opener tonight at Carolina against the Mudcats’ Ryan Tucker (2-1, 0.89).

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