Barons Overpowered by Generals, 13-1

The Birmingham Barons (36-39) jumped out to an early lead but saw it vanish as the Jackson Generals (42-34) used a resounding offensive showing to defeat the Barons 13-1 on Thursday night.

• Moments That Mattered: Joel Booker led off the bottom of the first inning with a double, Luis Basabe followed with a sacrifice bunt moving Booker to third. Zack Collins hit a RBI single to right field, collecting his 36th RBI of the season, which gave the Barons a short-lived 1-0 lead.
• Turning Point: In the top of the fourth inning the Barons saw the game unravel as they committed two errors.  The Generals broke the 1-1 tie by scoring six runs on just three hits to take a 7-1 lead. Jamie Westbrook lead off the next inning by hitting his 10th homer run of the season, extending the Generals lead to 8-1.
• Facts And Figures: With his first inning double Booker now has a hit in six of his first seven games as a Baron. He is batting .387 (12-for-31) with one home run and three RBI since his promotion to Birmingham on June 21. Eight of the nine Birmingham starters recorded a hit, with only Basabe going hitless in the loss.  
• By The Numbers: Barons starter Alec Hansen (L, 0-2) struggled on the mound as he struck out four, allowed four hits, and surrendered six runs, three earned, over 3.2 innings. Jackson starter Joel Payamps (W, 6-2) tossed 7.0 innings with one run and nine strikeouts to earn the win.
• Up Next: The Barons and the Generals will play game two of the series at Regions Field on Friday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Jimmy Lambert will make his Double-A debut for the Barons, while Bo Takahasi (0-2, 7.84) will start for the Generals. Curt Bloom will have the call on 960 WERC News Radio and the iHeart Radio app.