Generals' Carraway tosses one-hitter

Pitching in a scoreless game doesn't bother Andrew Carraway enjoys pitching in a scoreless game. He proved it on Friday night.

Carraway tossed a one-hitter for his first career complete game as the Jackson Generals walked off with a 1-0 victory over the Carolina Mudcats, earning a split of their doubleheader.

A 12th-round pick by the Mariners in the 2009 Draft, Carraway (5-0) allowed a one-out single to Jose Castro in the third, then retired the final 14 batters. He needed only 79 pitches to complete seven innings.

"My catcher, Brandon Bantz, and I were on the same page. We talked about a game plan beforehand -- I wanted to work both sides of the plate with the fastball and work in the change to keep guys off-balance," Carraway said. "Guys started reading the change a little better later on, so we went to the curveball."

It was Bantz who secured the win, coming through with an infield single to score Kuo Hui Lo in the bottom of the seventh. Lo opened the inning with a double and took third on Johermyn Chavez's sacrifice. After Nate Tenbrink was intentionally walked, Bantz hit a 3-2 pitch from reliever Bradley Boxberger down the third-base line for his second hit of the night.

"It was awesome," Carraway said. "It started with a leadoff double. Anytime you start off with a leadoff double you expect good things. We had a great vibe in the dugout. Everyone is doing their part and Bantz at the plate does his job.

"It's a good time for us to do this. We came into this with an outside chance to make the playoffs. To have a win like this boosts our morale."

After dropping the opener, 9-3, Carraway had a chance to end the Generals' three-game skid. Getting locked in a pitchers' duel made the victory even sweeter.

"It made it more fun," he said. "It's a really cool experience to be out there in a tight game late. I was able to go out there in the seventh, knowing that if I held those guys we'd have a chance to win. This one was a blast."

Carraway, who's made eight starts and seven relief appearances, was named to the Southern League All-Star Game earlier this month. The 24-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.41 ERA and has 50 strikeouts over 67 1/3 innings.

"This is probably my best one of the year," he said. "Today, going through the seventh, this was my best feeling of control all year."

Travis Webb started for the Mudcats and allowed two hits while fanning four in four innings. Boxberger (0-2) took the loss after yielding a run on two hits. The Reds' No. 7 prospect retired one batter.