Barons Beat Smokies 15-6 for First Series Win

After dropping consecutive games to start the home stand, the Birmingham Barons bounced back by obliterating Tennessee on Thursday night. On this Cinco de Mayo and Thirsty Thursday, the Barons remained focused on the mission of getting back into the win column. From the game's first pitch, the black and red controlled all aspects.

Kaleb Roper started the ballgame for the Barons and, after just nine pitches, finished off the first three Smokie batters. Then, on the flip side, the big bats of Birmingham immediately trounced the opposing starter, Riley Thompson. So much so that Thompson failed to record a single out the entire night, thereby earning him the infamous infinite ERA for the night. Overall, the 25-year-old Evansville, Illinois native surrendered seven earned runs while walking four batters as well.

Although Birmingham’s pitching played well, the offense made the difference. After a leadoff double, Tyler Neslony drove in the Barons’ first run courtesy of a single to center. Then, after a handful of walks, that lead quickly expanded to four, thanks to Craig Dedelow’s two-RBI single. After a pitching change, the lineup card flipping over, and some more walks, the bases remained juiced. In Neslony’s second plate appearance of the inning, he roped a hard line drive down the right-field line.

All in all, Magic City left the first frame up by a whopping eight runs. However, the onslaught was only beginning. Destino launched a deep fly ball over the right-center field fence in the following inning, extending the lead to nine. That said, the third inning created some drama as the Smokies closed the gap somewhat. Concurrently, the Barons’ starter, Kaleb Roper, started losing his control. As a result, Roper’s day came to an end after surrendering three earned runs.

Even so, the Barons refused to relinquish their control in game three and built up additional run support throughout the remainder of the ballgame. Specifically, in the bottom of the fifth, Magic City went back-to-back with long balls. First up was Lenyn Sosa’s two-run homer, giving him four on the year. Then, immediately afterward, Nelsony added to his already extraordinary game with a moonshot solo home run to dead center.

Doing so gave the Barons a 13-4 lead as it moved into the later innings. Although the Smokies attempted a heroic comeback, it was too little too late as hitting became contagious within that Barons dugout. In the end, Birmingham walked away with a 15-6 victory in game three of the six-game set. Sam Peralta earned his first victory of the year out of the bullpen, while Tennessee’s Riley Thompson took the loss. With three games still yet to play, this series can still turn in favor of Alabama’s own. As long as those bats stay hot, the rest of the series should go swimmingly.