Generals Drop Opener to Tennessee

Jackson, Tenn. - Oscar Hernández hit his second home run of the year, but the Jackson Generals failed to add to his tally, falling 8-2 on Monday to the Tennessee Smokies. The Generals, who rank first in the Southern League in batting average, were held to just five hits on the evening.
Hernandez homered in the second inning to give Jackson a 2-1 advantage, but the bats went quiet thereafter, as Tennessee starter Jen-Ho Tseng (3-0, 3.55) kept the Generals quiet between the third and sixth innings. The Generals lead the Southern League with 38 home runs on the year, but they were beaten for just the fourth time this season when hitting a round-tripper.

Jackson (19-11) weathered a first inning homer by Tennessee third baseman David Bote to take a second inning lead. After a strikeout, Dawel Lugo doubled to left field, and Hernandez took Tseng deep over the left field wall. Tseng retired the next two hitters, and the Generals got only one runner to second base over the next five innings. Meanwhile, the Smokies (19-12) went to work.
Brad Keller (2-1, 3.38 ERA) ran into trouble in the third, allowing a double and a walk to open the frame. Tennessee tried a sacrifice bunt to push both runners up a base, but an error on the play allowed the runner from second to score, tying the game. The inning unwound from there, with a pair of hits and an RBI groundout adding three more Tennessee runs. Keller finished the inning and three more beyond that, completing his longest start of the year.
Lugo's two hits led the Jackson offense, while Hernandez had the team's only two RBI. In relief, Jared Miller and Joey Krehbiel tagged in for seven combined strikeouts over the final 2.1 innings of the game. Neither Krehbiel nor Miller has allowed a run in their past four combined appearances, totaling a dozen strikeouts over the course of 4.1 scoreless innings thrown after May 4.
The Generals will turn to left-hander Alex Young (2-0, 1.82 ERA) on Tuesday, working against Tennessee right-hander Trevor Clifton (2-1, 2.77 ERA). First pitch from The Ballpark at Jackson is scheduled for 6:05 pm CT, and you can catch all the action on Willie 94 FM and 1390 AM in Jackson and online as well via the TuneIn Radio App.
The Generals' 10-game homestand continues against the Tennessee Smokies before the team welcomes the Pensacola Blue Wahoos to town. The team will host a Sarge-themed weekend starting Thursday, May 11 with his birthday celebration! It's also Thrifty Thursday, featuring $2 deals on general admission tickets, hot dogs, popcorn, 24-oz. Pepsi products, 16-oz. beer, ice cream and fun zone wristbands!
On Friday, May 12 versus the Smokies and Saturday, May 13 versus Pensacola, the Generals will host Sarge's Carnival with Postgame Fireworks both nights! At both games, we'll have carnival rides in the Fun Zone for the kids to enjoy! Friday's Fireworks are presented by Tennessee Health Management, while MobileNation is sponsoring Saturday's Show! Friday is also a Leaders Credit Union Food Truck Friday, with the Generals playing as the Hub City Hippos! On Saturday, the first 1,000 fans through the gate will get baseballs autographed by current Generals!
Make sure to get your tickets now to see the 20^th season of professional baseball in Jackson, and the first for the team as an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks! Call the team at (731) 988.5299, stop by The Ballpark or go online to jacksongeneralsbaseball.com to secure your seats now!