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PEARL, Miss. – The first place Tennessee Smokies won their third straight game as they defeated the Mississippi Braves 5-3 in the opening game of the five-game series at Trustmark Park on Thursday night. A three-run top of the seventh inning powered the comeback as Tennessee improves to 5-1 against the Braves in 2010, and maintain their one-game lead in the North Division’s second half standings. Marco Carrillo took the win in relief for the Smokies, improving his record with Tennessee to 4-0 in 2010. Mississippi’s Erik Cordier took the loss to fall to 8-6. The Braves took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a Willie Cabrera RBI single. The Smokies quickly answered in the top of the second with Nate Samson’s RBI single to tie the game at one. Mississippi answered in the bottom of the second with a run to retake the lead, but the Smokies would tie the game in the top of the third on Blake Lalli’s RBI single to knot the game at two. However the back and forth game continued to tilt Mississippi’s way, as Donell Linares hit an RBI double to give Mississippi a 3-2 advantage in the bottom of the third. Braves starter Chris Resop, who is with Mississippi on a major-league rehab assignment, pitched two and a third against the Smokies, giving up two runs on five hits. Smokies starter Chris Carpenter pitched five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits with four walks and two strikeouts. Tennessee’s three-run top of the seventh put the Smokies over the hump against Mississippi. Tony Campana brought in Tony Thomas on a groundout to tie the game, before Lalli’s two-RBI single gave Tennessee a 5-3 lead. Oswaldo Martinez pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth and faced the minimum to keep Tennessee ahead by two runs. In the bottom of the ninth, the Braves loaded the bases with one out against Smokies reliever Luke Sommer. Eric Duncan grounded a ball back to the mound, where Sommer turned a double play as he threw home for the first out, then catcher Steve Clevenger threw to first to get the final out to preserve Tennessee’s 5-3 victory. The save is Sommer’s sixth in as many opportunities with Tennessee. The clubs will play the second game of the series on Friday night at Trustmark Park. Tennessee’s right-hander Craig Muschko (3-3, 4.07 ERA) will pitch against Mississippi’s Kyle Cofield (1-1, 3.71 ERA). The game begins at 8:05 p.m. ET, and fans can listen to the game on the Smokies Radio Network. ABOUT THE TENNESSEE SMOKIES The Tennessee Smokies are the minor league Class AA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Members of the 10-team Southern League, Smokies baseball has been entertaining families and fans of America’s national pastime in the East Tennessee region for almost 100 years. To learn more about the Tennessee Smokies, visit www.smokiesbaseball.com.