Balanced offensive attack boosts Generals

Double-A Jackson is headed back to the Southern League Finals, this time as an affiliate of the Diamondbacks.
Behind two RBIs apiece from Arizona's No. 17 prospectDomingo Leyba, Kevin Medrano and Evan Marzilli, Jackson outlasted Montgomery, 11-7, on Sunday to win the best-of-5 Southern League semifinal series, 3-2.

"From Game 1 in postseason baseball, it's always fun to see how guys are going to react," Generals manager Shelley Duncan said. "Who's going to be nervous? ... But Leyba really looked like he was playing with an aggressiveness. He had no fear at the plate and his swings were outstanding, even when he was bailing at the ball. He came through in a lot of big spots for us. For him to get us on the board was a huge momentum boost."
Jackson won the Southern League championship in 2016 as an affiliate of the Mariners. The Generals switched affiliations to the D-backs in 2017.
Gameday box score
Following Montgomery's 10-7 win Saturday, Jackson quickly took the pressure of the clincher by scoring five times in the first three innings against Brandon Lawson (0-1) and Matt Krook.
Team batting leader Kevin Medrano, who hit .331 during the regular season, doubled with one out and scored on Leyba's triple in the first inning. The Generals added three in the second, with Medrano and Leyba again doing damage.
"We've got some guys who have been in the postseason before, and when you have veterans on the team, you can count on them to have slower heart rates. That adds stability," Duncan said. "Guys like Marzilli and Medrano."
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Three straight singles loaded the bases and then Lawson hit Ben DeLuzio with a pitch to force in a run. With Krook pitching, Medrano's walk plated another one and Leyba lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.
After David Rodríguez belted a two-run homer for the Biscuits in the bottom of the frame, Jackson tacked on another in the third on an RBI single by No. 30 prospect Dominic Miroglio.
The Generals put the game out of reach with five runs in the seventh, highlighted by Marzilli's two-RBI double and Medrano's two-run single. Rodriguez hit his second homer of the game in the bottom of the frame.

Since Jackson won the first half of the season, with Montgomery staving the Generals off in the second half. The Biscuits won 11 of the 20 games between the teams, outscoring Jackson, 92-89.
"Yeah, we knew it was going to be a close one, from the get-go," Duncan said.

The Generals will play host to Biloxi in the Southern League Championship Series, starting Tuesday night.
Duncan won a Northwest League championship in 2015 as manager of the Hillsboro Hops. He said the feeling doesn't change, no matter how many times you win.
"In the frame of mind I have right, it's about the players," he said. "The specialness is for the players. I get a real kick when I sit back and watch them. I told them, 'This time of year is for them. To grind through a Minor League season, and get to this point, this is the fun."'