White Sox Double-A affiliate claims second consecutive Southern League crown

Birmingham reigns again.

For the second straight year, the Double-A Barons are Southern League champions after outlasting the Montgomery Biscuits, 6-3, in a decisive Game 3 of the Championship Series that endured a pair of rain delays and took 19 hours and 40 minutes of real time to complete at Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium on Thursday.

"The effort that these guys showed and the willingness to compete all year, it was incredible, and it showed up here," Barons skipper Guillermo Quiroz said. "We got the result that we saw all season from this group, they competed every night, stayed in games -- even if we lost -- and never quit."

The Barons jumped out to a 5-0 lead with the big knock coming off the bat of infielder Jordan Sprinkle, who cleared the decks with a three-run double in the fifth. The UC Santa Barbara product did it all for Birmingham in this one, flashing the leather in the eighth to extinguish a Montgomery threat with a nifty flip play up the middle that ended the frame in which the Biscuits were set up with runners on first and third and one out.

The game's first rain delay occurred with runners on first and second and no outs in the bottom of the fifth inning and the score 5-1 in favor of Birmingham on Wednesday night. When it resumed on Thursday afternoon, MLB's No. 87 overall prospect Hagen Smith (CWS No. 5) -- who amassed six punchouts over four frames -- was replaced by righty Caleb Freeman, who allowed one of those runners to score before getting out of the inning.

The rain returned in the eighth and led to the second pause in action four pitches into the ninth. That delay lasted 32 minutes before the final frame was completed.

"They knew it wasn't over. The knew what they had to do," Quiroz said of the team's mindset after the extensive rain delays. "They've been in battles like this all year. Look at our record in games that are tied going into the ninth or in extra innings, we came out on top. Our guys know how to stay focused.

"I never had a doubt in my mind that we would come out today and finish this job."

The team from the metropolis known as Magic City had plenty of it this postseason as Birmingham rallied in both series to claim its 14th title in franchise history. After falling behind 0-1 in the Division Series, the Barons rallied for 4-0 and 9-6 victories over Chattanooga to get to the Finals where they lost Game 1 again, 2-1. After extending the series with a decisive 7-3 victory on Tuesday, Birmingham sealed its crown for the second straight season against the same opponent it faced last year on Thursday.

"We never trailed in an elimination game, that should tell you something," Quiroz said. "We are relentless, we know how to deal with pressure and we just go out and battle and get the job done."

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After playing just above .500 ball in the first half of the season, the Barons elevated their play in the second half, posting a 43-26 record (.623 winning percentage) with a plus-56 run differential. The team's success flourished from a balanced approach, as it finished the regular season by leading all Southern League teams in total hits (1,090), triples (26), average (.245), ERA (2.99), WHIP (1.21) and average against (.212) while ranking second in strikeouts with 1,237.

Seven of the White Sox Top 30 prospects concluded the season on Double-A Birmingham's roster -- including Chicago's top-ranked prospect Braden Montgomery (MLB No. 32). Another of the organization's Top 100 prospects, Noah Schultz (MLB No. 37), opened the year at Birmingham and made 12 starts for the Barons before being promoted to Triple-A.

"This is what we're trying to build here for the future of the Chicago White Sox," Quiroz said. "These are the winners that we need at the big league level, so yeah, we're looking forward to it."