PEARL — The red-hot Mississippi Braves stayed ahead of the pack in the Southern League South Division on Monday by beating Birmingham, 8-3, for their seventh consecutive victory.

Seth Loman went 3-for-5 with a double, Cedric Hunter and Rich Poythress each drove in two runs, and starting pitcher Joe Gardner allowed one run and three hits in seven sharp innings.

The M-Braves have won 23 of 31 games since July 25 and are one game ahead of Jacksonville for the division lead with five games left in the regular season.

The M-Braves play Birmingham in their last home game of the regular season tonight at 7 at Trustmark Park. The M-Braves finish the season with a four-game series at Huntsville beginning Wednesday night.