Though the Chattanooga Lookouts did a lot of things right to close out the Southern League’s first half, Tuesday night’s second-half opener at AT&T Field brought back some painful reminders.

Justin Turner and Tonys Gutierrez had fielding errors and Shaun Cumberland committed a base-running gaffe, evoking struggles that were common for Chattanooga early this spring, as the Lookouts fell 8-2 to Carolina. The Mudcats scored four runs in the eighth inning to break the game open, with Gaby Sanchez capping the surge with a single to right-center field for his third hit and third RBI.

It was not the start sought by Lookouts manager Mike Goff, who declined an interview request for the first time this season.

“Tonight we really beat ourselves, and we gave them a lot of opportunities,” Lookouts pitching coach Chris Bosio said. “We had the chance to make some plays, make some pitches and score some runs, but it just didn’t happen. That’s part of a long season, and we’ll come out tomorrow ready to play.”

Another unpleasant trend that returned Tuesday was the sheer longevity of the contest. It lasted 3 hours, 16 minutes.

Carolina’s eighth-inning outburst came at the expense of Lookouts reliever Sean Watson, the former University of Tennessee standout who was a second-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds two years ago. Watson has appeared in five games with Chattanooga since coming up from high Single-A Sarasota and has a 16.20 earned run average.

“I’m not getting ahead of hitters, and walks have been my killer,” Watson said. “I thought I had fixed that in Sarasota, but I’ve come up here and have been walking guys. It’s something I’ve definitely got to fix in the bullpen.”

Josh Willingham and Chris Coghlan each had two RBIs for Carolina. Willingham, who was the everyday left fielder and cleanup hitter for the Florida Marlins before going on the disabled list May 2 with a herniated disk, played the fourth game in his expected six-game rehab stint.

Willingham had an RBI double to left in the third inning to give the Mudcats a 3-0 lead but until then had been 1-for-10 with Carolina.

“You have to get at-bats, and I hadn’t swung a bat in a game in six weeks,” he said. “Everything looks harder. If it’s a 90-mile-an-hour fastball, then it looks like it’s 95. You have to get your timing, and you have to get back into baseball shape every night.

“I don’t think performance is as much of an issue as getting some good at-bats and getting your legs back under you.”

Willingham was hit in the back by Pedro Viola in the seventh inning but was fine.

Lookouts second baseman Justin Turner was activated before the game and singled to left in the sixth inning to get his team within 3-2. Turner was placed on the disabled list after suffering a Grade 2 concussion June 4 at AT&T.

The Lookouts had runners at first and third in the second inning but came away empty when Craig Tatum hit into a double play. They loaded the bases with nobody out in the third but managed only one run, that coming on a Cumberland fielder’s choice that scored pitcher Sam LeCure.

Jordan Smith (1-2, 5.85 ERA) is scheduled to start tonight’s 7:15 matchup for the Lookouts, with Rick Vanden Hurk (1-1, 6.04) scheduled for the Mudcats.

A quick crowning

The West Tenn Diamond Jaxx won the North Division first-half title Tuesday night with a 5-1 win at Huntsville. The two teams finished the half tied with 41-29 records, and league rules dictated that their first meeting in the second half would determine the first-half champion.

It just so happened Huntsville and West Tenn opened the second half against each other.