Generals whip Mobile, 6-0, with Stapler's 11 strikeouts

Jackson, Tenn. - The Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks, used a fantastic effort from Cole Stapler (3-0, 3.25 ERA) to pace a 6-0 defeat of the Mobile BayBears on Thursday at The Ballpark at Jackson.

The win for Jackson (61-47) is their eighth this season against Mobile (41-67), ensuring that they will win the season series against the BayBears.
The 24-year-old Stapler weathered a handful of hiccups on Thursday night en route to tying a career-high mark with 11 strikeouts of Mobile hitters. Stapler stranded a pair of runners in the first inning who had reached base with two outs, and he marooned two more in the second inning and one in the third as Jackson clung to a 2-0 lead. Stapler finally fell into a rhythm at the end of the third frame, retiring ten in a row to advance to the seventh inning before issuing a lead-off walk. After a single put two men on for Mobile, Stapler knuckled down and put the next three men away, finishing with a career-high 103 pitches. In relief, Matt Brill and Cameron Gann each worked scoreless frames, and the Generals improved to 51-17 when handing off a lead to the bullpen. The double-digit strikeout total for Stapler was the first for a Jackson starter since Riley Smith's ten-strikeout effort against Mississippi back on June 10.
Offensively, the Generals jabbed Jeremy Beasley (5-6, 3.95 ERA) early, claiming a pair of first-inning runs on consecutive RBI singles from Pavin Smith and Drew Ellis. Smith would become important again in the fifth inning, smoking an RBI double to center field to score Galli Cribbs Jr. and stretch the Jackson advantage to 3-0. A wacky sixth inning featured three walks and a two-run error by Mobile that put the Generals in front 5-0, and a run-scoring single by L.T. Tolbert in the eighth inning plated Jeffrey Baez to make the lead 6-0. Tolbert picked up his first multi-hit game as a General and drove in his first Double-A run on Thursday, while Baez scored twice and Smith tacked on his team-leading 25^th multi-hit game of the season. The shutout was Jackson's first since July 23 against Montgomery.   
UP AND COMING AT THE BALLPARK:
August 1-5: Generals vs. Mobile BayBears (AA, Los Angeles Angels)
…featuring Disney Night (August 3)!
 
The Jackson Generals, a West Tennessee franchise since 1998, are the Double-A minor league affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. The Generals play at The Ballpark at Jackson, Tennessee's 2017 & 2018 Pro Sports Field of the Year. Next June, The Ballpark at Jackson will host the 2020 Southern League All-Star Game, and you can purchase 2020 season tickets today by calling 731.988.5299 or visiting JacksonGeneralsBaseball.com!