Big Bats Lead Braves To Victory In Season's Penultimate Game

PEARL, Miss. - In the second to last game of the season, the Mississippi Braves used a Joey Meneses home run and six extra base hits to defeat the Birmingham Barons 7-2 on Sunday evening.
Travis Demeritte capped off a first inning, two-out rally with an RBI single to kick start the offensive festivities off Barons' starter Jordan Stephens.

With Stephens keeping the Barons within striking distance, the offense scattered five hits in the first four innings, but Wes Parsons kept the visitors off the board, allowing the Braves to take advantage in the bottom of the fourth.
Joe Odom knocked the second of two consecutive doubles to left field to score the first run of the inning, while Jared James drove Odom in two batters later to extend the lead to 3-0.
While Nick Basto got one run back for the Barons on a sacrifice fly in the fifth, the Braves immediately answered, as James and Alex Jackson each tallied RBI base hits in the bottom half of the innings, chasing Stephens from the game.
Down 5-1 and looking for a rally, Courtney Hawkins smacked his 10^th home run of the season, albeit a solo shot, in the sixth, cutting the lead to 5-2.
However, just like they did in the fifth, the Braves immediately answered the Barons run with two of their own, as Meneses blasted his ninth home run of the season, a two-run shot, giving the Braves a 7-2 lead, which is one they would not relinquish.
Parsons did not give up a run in his four innings of work and was relieved by Michael Mader and Jacob Webb , with Webb picking up his third win of the season.
Stephens took the loss for the Barons, dropping to 3-7, while Hawkins and Hunter Jones led the Barons 10-hit attack with two hits apiece.
The Barons and the Braves will close out the season tomorrow afternoon at noon CT, as left-hander Tanner Banks gets the ball for the final time this season, while his counterpart will be right-hander Touki Toussaint for Mississippi. Curt Bloom will bring you all the action, starting with the Coca-Cola pregame show at 11:50 a.m. CT. The game can be heard on the iHeart Radio app and 105.5 WERC-FM.
For ticket information, game schedule or for additional information about Regions Field, call (205) 988-3200, or visit www.barons.com, www.facebook.com/birminghambarons or on Twitter: @bhambarons.