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After a subdued on-field celebration, champagne flowed in the visiting clubhouse at Smokies Park after the Birmingham Barons earned a berth in the Southern League Championship Series. (John Shadrick/Birmingham Barons)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Reliever Cody Winiarski silenced the Smokies bats in the eighth and ninth innings, allowing his Birmingham Barons to hold on for a 7-4 victory tonight for the North Divisional Series championship at Smokies Park.

The victory sends Birmingham into the Southern League Championship Series, which will begin with Games 1 and 2 on Wednesday and Thursday at the home of the South Division champ Mobile BayBears.

Game 3 will be Friday at Regions Field. If needed, Game 4 will be Saturday and Game 5 on Sunday, each in Birmingham. Game times are to be determined.

Ryan Kussmaul was on the mound and leading by two as the Barons headed into their inning of horrors. Tennessee had scored pivotal runs in the eighth inning in each of their series victories in their home park.

Kussmaul retired the first two Smokies but walked the third to give way to Winiarski, who induced a pop out from Jonathan Mota.

This time, it was the visitors who plated some late-game insurance.

Jared Mitchell led off the top of the ninth with a double and Micah Johnson reached on a bunt single that pushed him to third. Johnson, who leads the minor leagues in stolen bases, did what he does best and swiped second.

Cody Puckett delivered a sacrifice fly to bring Mitchell home for a three-run lead. That left the fate of the first-half North Division champs in the hands of Winiarski. He got pinch-hitter Nate Samson to line out softly to Johnson and got outfielder Matt Szczur to ground out to the second baseman.

Tennessee's Arismendy Alcantara gave the home crowd hope with a two-out single to right. But Winiarski delivered a four-pitch strikeout of Javier Baez to end the game.

This marks the Barons' league-leading 10th playoff appearance in the past 15 seasons and their first since 2011. The last time the Barons led the league in steals and had the league MVP, they won their most recent Southern League Championship, in 2002.

This marked the third playoff meeting between the Barons and Smokies since 1964 and the first since the 1993 Championship Series. The Barons won that series 3-1 to win their 12th title.

Birmingham also won the previous meeting in the 1991 Division Series 3-1.

Tied 2-2 through three innings, the Barons put four runs on the board in the fourth. Johnson reached on an error at second with the bases loaded to bring in three runs; he would later score from third as Trayce Thompson reached on an error at shortstop.

Baez pulled the home team to within two runs at 6-4 on a two-run homer off Birmingham reliever Nestor Molina, the winning pitcher in relief. He gave up three hits and two runs in 2 2/3 innings, striking out three.

Winiarski pitched a scoreless 1 1/3 innings, getting the save as he fanned one and allowed one hit.

Smokies starter Neil Ramirez took the loss. In 3 1/3 innings, he allowed five runs on five hits with three of those runs being earned.

Ramirez walked three and struck out none.

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