Braves' Magic Number Down to 8: W, 7-6

Brandon Jones finished off a 4-for-4 night at the plate with a walk-off RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the 9th as the Braves took Game 3 of the series in 7-6 fashion over West Tennessee in front of 3,043 fans at Trustmark Park. With the win the Braves (37-21) maintain their lead in the South Division at 5 games over the Jacksonville Suns. They were also reduced their magic number to clinch the first half down to 8 with 12 games remaining. The Diamond-Jaxx (25-33) fell to 7.0 games back in the North Division race.

The Braves got on the board first with an RBI double by Jones that chased home Mike Rozema who tripled to start the 4th inning. Diory Hernandez followed two batters later with an RBI single to make it 2-0. The D-Jaxx responded in the 6th inning as they manufactured a couple of runs. Charlton Jimerson singled and then stole second and third before scoring on a sac fly by Prentice Redman. They added another run on an RBI single by Jeff Frazier to tie the score at 2-2. The Braves responded in a big way in the bottom of the 6th as they ripped off 4 two-out hits as Jurich (RBI), Burrus (RBI) and Pope (2 RBIs) all drove in runs with doubles.

James Parr (0-0, 5.73 ERA), was good early as he allowed 2 runs on only 3 hits while walking three but striking out six. In fact he recorded 5 strikeouts through the first two innings. Brad Nelson was charged with the blown save as he gave up 4 runs in the 7th inning on three hits a walk and a hit batter. Charlie Morton (3-3, 3.55 ERA) picked up the win in relief as he tossed two scoreless innings, giving up a lone single to Luis Oliveros, while striking out three D-Jaxx batters.

Josh Burrus started off the bottom of the 9th by getting on base as he was hit by a pitch. Van Pope sacrificed him over to second base and then Carl Loadenthal was intentionally walked. Mike Rozema struck out which set up the heroics by Brandon Jones.

Brandon Jones was the Braves Players of the Game as finished 4-for-4 at the plate (his first 4-hit game of the season) with two runs scored and two RBIs. He also picked up his team-leading 26th walk of the season in the 7th inning.

The Braves will continue a 5-game series in Pearl, Mississippi at Trustmark Park as they take on the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, the AA Affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, in the fourth game of their Southern League Series. The Braves On Deck Circle presented by Wendy's will air starting at 6:05pm (CT). The First Pitch will follow at 7:05pm (CT). The Braves are scheduled to send LHP Jo-Jo Reyes (6-1, 4.18 ERA) to the hill in search of his team-leading 7th win, while the D-Jaxx will counter with RHP Joe Woerman (3-3, 3.02 ERA) who is looking for his fourth victory. Make sure you take your radio to the game and tune to the exclusive Trustmark Park frequency - 104.3-FM.

Check out the Braves Minute here. To catch an archived version of tonight's game or any previous MS Braves game head to Minor League Baseball.com and select the day you want to hear.

GAME TIME: 3:13 --- ATTENDANCE: 3,043

BRAVES BITES:
* The Braves improve to 20-8 at home.
* The Braves improve to 13-8 in one-run games.
* The Braves improve to 29-12 when scoring first.
* Carl Loadenthal is now #9 in the League in hitting.
* The Braves improve to 10-4 in final at-bat decisions.
* The Braves improve to 5-2 when tied after 8 innings.
* The Braves improve to 26-9 when scoring 4 or more runs.
* The Braves improve to 29-10 when not allowing a homerun.
* The Braves registered 5 more strikeouts on the mound.(Performance Sports Academy K's for Kids Total: $427 to the Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital)

ACTIVE HIT STREAKS (2 games or more):
* Mark Jurich -7 games (12-28, .429)
* Ray Serrano - 6 games (9-20, .450)
* Brandon Jones -3 games (7-11, .636)
* Mike Rozema - 8 games (12-33, .364)
* Clint Sammons - 6 games (8-25, .320)
* Diory Hernandez - 2 games (3-8, .375)
* Carl Loadenthal - 10 games (17-40, .425)

HIT STREAKS ENDED:
* NONE

HITLESS STREAKS ENDED:
* Matt Esquivel (0-6) - 6th inning single
* Van Pope (0-9) - 6th inning 2-run double
* Josh Burrus (0-16) - 6th inning RBI double

ACTIVE HITLESS STREAKS:
* Greg Creek (0-6)

TRANSACTIONS:
* NONE

(Players listed in Italics did not play in this game)

by
Bryan Eubank