BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Fireworks exploded over Regions Field tonight, not unlike those that lit the sky after Birmingham Baron games on Friday nights.

"They were going off win or lose," team owner Don Logan said, "but it sure is nice to get a big W tonight. Icing on the cake for everybody."

The fireworks were scheduled to close out Empowerment Week events across the street at Railroad Park. But they provided a timely backdrop for a celebration that would last for a few hours.

The Birmingham Barons defeated the Mobile BayBears 4-2 in Game 5 of the Southern League Championship Series, prying the title away from the two-time defending champions.

It is their first league championship since 2002, seventh since the Southern League was formed in 1964 and 14th overall.

"It was incredible," manager Julio Vinas said. "It was a long journey for us from Day One to now. Day One, I said this was a special team and it is. It's an incredible team. These guys keep battling. All the things we went through, injuries and everything. It's just an incredible team. I'm so proud of them."

Second baseman Micah Johnson, the newest field player for the Chicago White Sox Double-A farm club, sparked the team tonight as he has throughout the series in earning most valuable player honors.

Johnson led off the Birmingham half of the first with a home run to ignite the team and an announced crowd of 3,093. He finished with 2 for 4 tonight with two runs scored and two RBIs.

The second-sacker was 9 for 20 in the series.

"Our hitting coach Gary Ward said for us to dominate," he said as he accepted the MVP award. "We did that."

Mobile got going from the start with back-to-back singles from Ender Inciarte and Nick Ahmed. Justin Greene sacrificed them over and Nick Evans tagged a single to center to bring them both home.

The BayBears had two more baserunners via a fielder's choice and a walk. That prompted pitching coach Britt Burns to visit the mound. Barons starter Myles Jaye retired the next batter.

Johnson, who defines himself as a free-swinging lead-off hitter, took the second pitch he saw over the center field wall to cut the lead in half.

"I gotta be honest with you, I kind of wanted to," the MVP said. "I was trying to get barrel on it. I don't have that kind of power. It shocked me. We needed that and it happened. I'm glad it happened."

It was his first home run as a Baron.

Jaye pitched himself into trouble in the second with runners on second and third. But he got Justin Greene to ground out to third to keep the slate clean in that inning.

"Jaye gave them a great outing," Mobile manager Andrew Green said. "We had him on the ropes in the first inning couple of innings and, I think, left four guys in scoring position after the first two. Maybe that was a time we could have driven a little further ahead. They were quality at-bats. We just didn't get them in."

The third inning began in a promising manner, and it was a promise fulfilled. The first two Barons batters reached and Keenyn Walker sacrificed them to second and third.

During a Jared Mitchell strikeout at-bat, BayBears starter Bradin Hagens delivered a wild pitch to plate Tyler Saldino and put Mike Blanke on third. Johnson drove in the go-ahead run on a slow roller to second that scored Blanke and induced a bad throw from second to move him an extra 90 feet.

The speedy Barons second baseman scored on Cody Puckett's single to center to give Birmingham a 4-2 lead.

Jaye exited after five complete innings. He scattered five hits, walked two and struck out one. It was his second start of the postseason in a do-or-die Game 5.

"You've just got to think of it as another game," he said. "I came out a little amped up (and) things didn't go my way in the first inning. But this is a great group of guys. They picked me up in the bottom of the first inning and then in the bottom of the second. Then I finally settled down, did my job. (Ryan) Kussmaul came in, shut the door. (Cody) Winiarski did the same thing."

Kussmaul took the mound in the sixth and was virtually untouchable. The right-hander allowed two hits over 2 2/3 innings; he struck out six, walked none and threw 33 of his 44 pitches for strikes.

Winiarski got the save. More special, he got the final out, a swinging strikeout of BayBears pinch-hitter Keon Broxton.