Smokies bury Barons 13-5

Team collects season high in runs In his previous two starts, Smokies pitcher Micah Owings was forced to help his own cause at the plate; on Sunday night Owings could sit back and relax as his teammates erupted for 13 runs on 15 hits to down the Barons 13-5 in front of a season high crowd of 5,862 at Smokies Park. Every member of the Smokies starting lineup collected at least one hit and was paced by leadoff man Jerry Gil who went 3-for-5 in just his sixth game back with Tennessee since being assigned to the club last week. The Smokies started the scoring early off of Barons starter Ray Liotta. Tennessee tallied two runs apiece in both the first and third innings to jump out to a 4-0 lead early in the game. Gil led off the game with a singleto left field before being brought home on a Steve Garrabrants double, Garrabrants ended the night 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Garrabrants scored again in the third inning on a two-out home run from designated hitter Jamie D’Antona. The home run was D’Antona’s team-leading seventh home run of the season. The Conneticut native also drove in three runs to increase his total to 17 on the season. After the Barons got two back from the Smokies in the top half of the seventh inning, the Tennessee bats came alive again in the bottom half of the frame to score five runs off of Barons reliever Rusty Tucker. After leading off the inning with three straight singles, right fielder Jon Zeringue added a fourth to bring home two base runners. Alberto Gonzalez continued the scoring surge with a two run double to left field and finished the night with a season high four RBI in the winning effort. The offensive explosion overshadowed another quality start for Owings. The 23-year old righthander finished the night after eight innings pitched with five strikeouts against a lone walk. Owings allowed only two earned runs on five hits and was never seriously threatened until the seventh frame. The two teams continue their series on Monday night at 7:15 p.m. with Adam Bass taking the hill for the Smokies against Lance Broadway of Birmingham.