SL1 Birmingham Barons

Barons Pound Out 7-2 Win Over D-Jaxx

May 12, 2008 - Southern League (SL1)
Birmingham Barons News Release


Birmingham, Ala. -- The Birmingham Barons used 12 hits to dump the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx by a 7-2 count Monday night at Regions Park. The win was the fourth in a row for the Barons (21-17) and helped the team maintain a three-game lead in the Southern League's South Division.

Birmingham got on the board early against West Tenn starter Denny Stark (0-1), getting a David Cook two-run home run in the first to grab a 2-0 lead. The long ball was Cook's seventh of the year and sixth in the month of May. It was the first hit in a 3-for-3 performance that extended his hitting streak to a season-high seven games, during which he is hitting 13-of-18.

Javier Castillo opened the Birmingham half of the third with a double that extended his hitting streak to a team-high nine games. Noah Hall, who was activated off the disabled list earlier in the day, followed with an RBI double, one of his two hits on the night. Stefan Gartrell added a run-scoring single in the inning that put the Barons on top 4-0.

Birmingham starter Justin Cassel (3-2) retired the first six batters he faced but ran into trouble in the third, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk. He would allow only one other base runner on the night though, a sixth-inning walk, and cruised to the win in his fourth quality start of the year. The Barons' bullpen would allow just a single and a walk after Cassel departed.

After West Tenn (23-15) cut its deficit to 4-2 through three innings, the teams exchanged scoreless frames until the sixth when Birmingham chased Stark with a two-run double by Victor Mercedes that made it a 6-2 game. Mercedes went 3-for-4 in the contest after managing just a 4-for-44 line over his previous 13 games. The Barons would tack on another run in the seventh when Castillo singled in Cook, who had led the inning off with a triple.

Birmingham will look for its fifth straight win, which would tie a season high, when it takes on West Tenn Tuesday night at 7:05 pm. Lefthander Ryan O'Malley (0-0) will make his first start for the Barons, and he will be opposed by D-Jaxx southpaw Justin Thomas (1-3).

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