Five Generals star in 2-1 win over Barons

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, made a miraculous escape at Regions Field on Thursday night, snatching a 2-1 victory from the Birmingham Barons in ten innings.

The triumph brought Jackson (52-44, 13-14 Second Half) even in the current set with the division-leading Barons (47-48, 15-12 Second Half) at 1-1.
For the fourth consecutive start, Generals right-hander Justin Donatella clocked five or more innings of work with two or fewer runs allowed. On Thursday, the Saugus, Calif. native held Birmingham to one run in 5.2 innings pitched, departing in the sixth with the game tied. After allowing a leadoff triple in the sixth to Birmingham's Trey Michalczewski, Donatella recorded consecutive strikeouts of Danny Mendick and Matt Rose before being removed after 93 pitches. In Donatella's place, left-hander Kirby Bellow entered to face left-handed slugger Keon Barnum, and Bellow bested Barnum with a five-pitch punchout.
Wei-Chieh Huang (2-0, 1.61 ERA) entered in Bellow's stead, facing only three Birmingham hitters in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings while collecting four of his five strikeouts. Huang's steady hand guided the Generals safely through the extra frame as well, closing out the Barons in a bases-loaded, one-out situation with a strikeout and a groundout to first base to stave off the home team. The win for Jackson was their sixth in seven games, as well as their sixth overall in extra innings this season.
After going hitless through the first four frames against Birmingham's Jimmy Lambert and Brandon Brennan, Rudy Flores broke up the no-hit bid with a lead-off single in the fifth, followed by his first stolen base of the year. Jackson didn't score until the sixth, however, when a two-out rally saw Jamie Westbrook plate Ben DeLuzio on a single to left field off of Jake Johansen. The Generals went hitless over the next 2.2 innings before Westbrook came to the plate again, singling with two outs in the ninth inning before the Generals were retired without scoring. Westbrook finished 2-for-4, the lone General with two hits.
Entering extra innings, Jose Vinicio took the place of Marty Herum as the automatic runner at second base to begin the Generals' first bonus at-bat. A deep flyout to right field by Josh Prince allowed Vinicio to tag up and advance to third base with one out. Jay Gonzalez, hitless on the night, followed by working himself into a 3-2 count against Birmingham's Matt Foster (0-2, 2.70 ERA). The Generals' right fielder carved a clean RBI single through the left side of the infield to score Vinicio from third base, vaulting Jackson into the lead for the first time all night. The West Tennessee bunch hung on win their 13^th last at-bat victory despite failing to record an extra-base hit and being out-hit, 7-5, by Birmingham.
NEXT GENERALS GAME:
7:05 pm CT Friday (7/20) vs. Birmingham Barons
Regions Field - Birmingham, Ala.
RHP Joel Payamps (8-3, 3.03 ERA) vs. RHP Dylan Cease (1-0, 3.24 ERA)
Broadcast Link: Jackson Generals Baseball Network
UP AND COMING AT THE BALLPARK:
July 23-27 vs. Biloxi Shuckers (AA, Milwaukee Brewers)
…featuring Belly Buster Monday (July 23) and Generals Baseball Camp (July 26)!
August 2-6 vs. Tennessee Smokies (AA, Chicago Cubs)
…featuring Disney Night (August 4) and Belly Buster Monday (August 6)!
The Jackson Generals, a West Tennessee franchise since 1998, are the Double-A minor league affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2017, The Ballpark at Jackson was named the Professional Sports Field of the Year by the Tennessee Turfgrass Association. In 2018, the Generals and manager Shelley Duncan won the First Half North Division title, assuring them of a bid to the Southern League playoffs in September. For tickets and more information about the Generals,
dial 731.988.5299 or log on to our ticket page at JacksonGeneralsBaseball.com!