Wednesday, June 30, 2010

For Cain and Lawrie, two very different roads to the All-Star Game

By Aaron Morse

Just call Huntsville Stars’ outfielder Lorenzo Cain “The Natural.”

It’s not often a player can start playing baseball in high school and eventually end up on an all-star team, much less a major league club’s 40-man roster. But that’s exactly what the relentlessly upbeat 24-year old outfielder out of Tallahassee Community College has accomplished.

Cain laughs when asked what led him to baseball. “I don’t tell too many people this, but I got cut from my high school basketball team,” Cain said. “I was tired of just going home every day after school; I wanted something to keep me busy.”

Hitting was never an issue, which is impressive considering as Pete Rose once said, “It’s a round ball and a round bat, and you got to hit it square.” But fielding was another matter. “I played third base in high school and I was terrible,” Cain said with a grin. “So one of the biggest challenges was finding a position I was comfortable playing.”

He did exactly that at Tallahassee, shifting to center field where he could most take advantage of his plus speed. But there was still more to learn.

“I didn’t know how to crow hop,” Cain said. “So that was something that required an adjustment in how I threw the ball.”

The Brewers made Cain their 17th round draft choice in 2004, which came as no surprise to many, but stunned Cain.

“I wasn’t expecting to be drafted at all,” he said. “I mean, my game was so raw at that time, it was a pleasant surprise.”

Cain didn’t watch baseball very much growing up, but since taking up the sport has modeled his game after one man: Torii Hunter.

“I love watching him play,” Cain said. “I want to be able to play the outfield just like him.”

Cain tracks balls down in the gaps with an ease that belies his relative inexperience. Asked if he’s ever robbed anyone of a home run like Hunter does routinely, he flashes a smile and says that he has, but that Hunter is on a whole different level.

The man they call “Lo-Cain” credits his mom with keeping him focused throughout high school and college as well. She was able to see him play with the Stars when they were in Jacksonville last week for a six-game series.

Cain is currently on the Brewers’ 40-man roster, but his rise to the Southern League All-Star game has not been easy. Like so many young players, injuries have slowed him down at times. In particular 2009 was a rough time as he only hit .218 in the minors. This came the year after he got a cup of coffee in triple-A with the Nashville Sounds.

“Taking care of my body has got to be priority number one right now,” Cain said. “I have to do everything in my power to avoid another trip to the disabled list.”

But for now, it’s full speed ahead as he prepares to represent the Stars on July 12 as the All-Star Game comes to Huntsville.

Just call Stars’ second baseman Brett Lawrie “The Chosen One.”

The Brewers have a lot of hope and money riding on the 2008 first round draft pick out of Brookswood Secondary (Langley, British Columbia). He received a bonus of 1.7 million dollars upon signing, and so far he’s been just as good as advertised.

Lawrie, 20, talks a mile a minute and likes to joke about his short attention span.

“I have a really hard time watching a baseball game all the way through,” Lawrie said. “Growing up I liked to watch individual players; I didn’t really have a particular team I rooted for.”

Lawrie has often been characterized as a hitter without a position, something he cringes at.

“I know I have to work on my defense, but I can play anywhere they need me to,” Lawrie said. “I can play third, catcher, second base, whatever they need.”

Currently Lawrie is holding down the fort at second base and improving every day. He says that he loves watching Dan Uggla and Dustin Pedroia play. Their combination of powerful hitting and slick glove-work is something that appeals to the Southern League’s total bases leader.

Lawrie comes from a family of athletes. His sister Danielle recently graduated from the University of Washington, where she led the Dawgs to the 2009 NCAA softball national title.

“Oh yeah, it was a pretty competitive household growing up,” Lawrie said. “Nowadays we’ve kind of gone our separate ways, but when we were younger we definitely pushed each other.”

Lawrie says he’s never tried to hit a pitch from his sister. He smiles and says that she’d probably get him the first few times, but he’d make the necessary adjustments.

The confident infielder played in the MLB “Futures Game” last year at age 19, and said it was an amazing experience.

“It was the same day as that softball game they play with all the baseball legends, so I got to meet a few of them,” Lawrie said. “This year, with the game in Los Angeles, I expect there to be even more star-power at All-Star Weekend.”

Lawrie’s schedule is about to get hectic, as the Futures game is a little earlier this year, allowing him to play there and play in the Southern League All-Star game.

“It’s very exciting to have the game in Huntsville,” Lawrie said. “Normally that would mean I wouldn’t have to go anywhere, but I don’t mind the flight to LA and back.”

Cain and Lawrie’s backgrounds are very different, but they share a few similar qualities. Cain has his trademark grin while Lawrie always seems to have a twinkle in his eye.

Both love almost every minute of their journey to the big leagues. But Cain does caution those fans who think it is all fun and games that the minor leagues are definitely a grind. The long bus trips to Jacksonville, Carolina, and other SL destinations are taxing.

“You have to have serious mental toughness to make it through a minor league season,” said Cain.

Lawrie agrees and says now that he plays baseball for a living, he tries to avoid it as much as possible during his rare off days.

Like Cain, Lawrie played a lot of basketball growing up; he played all the way through high school. Despite his avoidance of baseball on days off, America’s national pastime remains the Canadian’s favorite sport.

He makes no bones about his goal for the remainder of the season.

“At the start of the year my goal was to begin the season in Double-A,” Lawrie said. “I’ve accomplished that, I’ve hit the ball well, and now my goal is a September call-up to the major leagues.”

Confident? Yes. Realistic for the youngest player on the Stars? Quite possibly.

The Stars have already seen catcher Jonathan Lucroy promoted first to Nashville, then to Milwaukee. Meanwhile, another young player, Starlin Castro, formerly of the Tennessee Smokies, became the first player born in the 1990’s to play in the majors when he debuted with the Chicago Cubs this year.

“The Natural” and “The Chosen One” aren’t far behind.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Stars Fall At Home To Lookouts

The Stars trailed the entire way Tuesday night, falling in game one of a series opener 9-3 to the visiting Chattanooga Lookouts.

Dee Gordon led off the game with a single, stole two bases and scored on a sacrifice fly. Things took a strange turn after Stars pitcher Mark Rogers worked out of the inning with 29 pitches.

Lookouts starting pitcher Mario Alvarez only delivered one pitch before he was ejected from the game for hitting Brett Lawrie with a fastball. Home plate umpire Marcus Patillo then tossed Chattanooga manager Carlos Subero during the heated argument that followed. The Stars and Lookouts last played in Huntsville from April 26-29 and it’s possible Patillo felt the wayward pitch was a carryover from the previous series between the two squads. Lawrie did score as the lone run of the Stars first. Lawrie’s run tied the score and was credited to Alvarez, who did not record an out before being run from the contest.

Rogers did not last long either. One of the Stars hottest hurlers of late retired one and allowed one in the second before calling Stars pitching coach John Curtis out of the dugout. After examining Roger’s pitching hand, the decision was made to bring in reliever Donovan Hand. Roger’s threw 41 pitches through 1.1 innings, allowed three runs on two hits and walked three while striking out one.

The Stars bullpen did not fare much better, giving up six runs on 11 hits. Rogers picked up the loss, his sixth of 2010.

Huntsville’s best chance came in the third but could only take one run back. With one run already in, two outs and runners on the corners, Dayton Buller sent a fly ball to right field that Kyle Russell reeled in easily to end the frame.

A doubleheader is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m. (CDT) in Huntsville on Wednesday. Huntsville will send Amaury Rivas (6-5 2.960 in game one and Lucas Luetke (1-0 1.00) in game two. Both games will be streamed live on huntsvillestars.com.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Stars fall to Suns in rain-shortened affair

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (2-4, 35-41) were shutout for the second time in their six game series with the Jacksonville Suns (4-2, 44-32) as they dropped the finale by a score of 6-0 in five plus innings Sunday afternoon.

The Stars threatened in the first against Suns’ starter Elih Villanueva as Brett Lawrie and Caleb Gindl both singled. But Zelous Wheeler lined into a double play to end the threat.

Huntsville would manage only two more hits the remainder of the game as Villanueva (7-4) tossed a “complete game” going 5.1 innings until the rains came, giving up no runs, walking one and striking-out two.

The Suns scored one in the first, two in the third, and three in the fifth against Stars’ starter Michael Bowman.

Greg Burns started the first with a single to center. He advanced to second on a ground-out and moved to third on a wild pitch. Brandon Tripp hit a grounder to first base that drove home Burns as the Suns took the 1-0 lead.

The third inning didn’t go well for the Stars as Burns got things going again, this time with a lead-off walk. Osvaldo Martinez doubled him home to make the score 2-0. One out later Vinny Rottino doubled Martinez in as the Suns extended their edge to 3-0.

Rottino would help add some insurance when he singled to right with one away in the fifth. Jason Delaney doubled Rottino across the plate and Matt Dominguez singled to left; Delaney was able to score when Lee Haydel bobbled the ball for his first error of the year. Dominguez advanced to second on the play and scored after Bowman uncorked back-to-back wild pitches.

The 6-0 lead was more than enough even though the Stars put two runners on base with only one away in the sixth. The skies opened up and the game was called due to rain.

Huntsville has a day off Monday before they return to “The Joe” to host the Chattanooga Lookouts on Tuesday. First pitch is at 7pm central time and all the action can be heard on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network beginning at 6:45 with the Window World Pre-Game Report.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Suns hold off Stars

By Aaron Morse

Steffan Wilson tallied three hits and drove in two runs but the Huntsville Stars (2-2, 35-39) fell to the Jacksonville Suns (2-2, 42-32) by a final score of 6-4 Friday night.

The Stars took an early 1-0 lead when Wilson went yard for his fifth homer of the year in the second.

Brandon Tripp and the Suns came roaring back against Stars’ starter Josh Butler in the fourth. Tripp hit a long ball to start the inning and then they played some small ball to take the lead. Vinny Rottino reached on an error and immediately stole second base. He moved to third on a fly ball and scored on a ground-out as the Suns went up by a score of 2-1.

One swing of the bat cost Butler again in the sixth as a two-out three-run home run off the bat of pinch hitter Jason Delaney gave the Suns a 5-1 lead.

Jeff Allison went six innings, giving up the lone run on only three hits, but the Stars got to reliever Daniel Jennings in the seventh. With one away Taylor Green doubled to right. Wilson followed with his second RBI of the game on a single to right. Down 5-2, the Stars kept at it as Lee Haydel reached on an infield single. That combined with a throwing error put runners on second and third. Dayton Buller grounded out to short, driving home Wilson to make the score 5-3.

Jacksonville tacked on one more run in the seventh against reliever Mark Willinsky.

The Stars made one last run at the game in the top of the eighth. Down 6-3, Lorenzo Cain singled to left with one away. Caleb Gindl doubled him home to make the score 6-4. Zelous Wheeler singled to left, moving Gindl to third. Wade Korpi entered the game only to walk Taylor Green to load the bases. Steffan Wilson and Lee Haydel both had chances against reliever Todd Doolittle but neither was able to come through as the Suns escaped still up 6-4.

That’s how the game would end as Jhan Marinez worked a scoreless ninth to pick up the save.

Josh Butler (1-4) suffered the loss as he went six innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on six hits. He walked three and struck-out six. Allison (4-3) got the win.

The Stars will look to take back the series lead Saturday evening. First pitch is at 6:05pm central time.

Lawrie Excited to Showcase Talent

Connor Shreve

On Monday July, 12 the Southern League All Star game will be played in Huntsville, it’s the first time in 18 years that Joe Davis stadium will host the Southern League’s best and brightest. However one of Huntsville’s most promising players will not be able to attend the AA midsummer classic. Instead, Stars second baseman Brett Lawrie will be playing on a big league field as part of Major League Baseball’s All-Star weekend in Anaheim, CA.

On Tuesday June, 22 the selection of Lawrie to the World Team roster for the 2010 XM Future’s Game was released; it’s the second time in as many years that the 20 year old Canadian has been on the roster. Lawrie says knowing what the experience holds will help this time around. “I got the opportunity to do it last year,” he said, “Obviously it’s going to be a fun game, a lot of good players over there so it’s just a good day to show off your talents and play with the best caliber of players that are coming up and I’m excited to just go out there and have some fun.” In the 2009 contest, Lawrie helped his World team to a victory over the Americans with a 1-3 performance at the plate that included a double and a run.

In the 2009 Future’s Game Lawrie played with another Brewers prospect, Alcides Escobar, now Milwaukee’s starting short stop. At just 20 years of age, Huntsville’s youngster is no stranger to playing with the best competition. As an amateur, he played with the 2008 Canadian National junior team that competed in the World Baseball Championship as well as being selected to his nations 2008 Olympic squad. Along with his 2009 Future’s Game appearance, Lawrie was also chosen to participate in that year’s World Baseball Classic. In 2010, Lawrie will be on his own as the only Milwaukee representative at the XM Future’s Game.

Since signing with the Brewers for just shy of two million dollars as a first round selection in 2008, Lawrie has been placed on an express train to the Major Leagues. Many experts expect him to be Milwaukee’s opening day second baseman in 2012 but it hasn’t always been a typical rise for Lawrie, who holds the distinction of being Canada’s highest picked draftee ever. The ascension has been slowed by a defensive switch made in the middle of the 2009 campaign. Playing a number of positions as an amateur, Lawrie began his professional career as a catcher but a number of factors prompted the switch to second base including a potentially faster path to Major League Baseball. The young infielder has showed both improvement and promise in 2010 but has also committed 13 errors over a team leading 72 games played. Lawrie knows how quickly his defense takes shape may determine when he can button up a Brew Crew jersey. “I’ve worked tremendously hard in my defensive work,” he said. “My double play balls, my footwork to second, my footwork to first and just everything with the position I’ve worked hard at so I think I’ve done a good job with it.”

After a slow start to 2010, which included the majority of his 13 errors, Huntville’s infielder has been one of the Stars hottest hitters. In a month long stretch ending on June 24th, Lawrie raised his average from .264 to .299. That stretch included 11 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs and 18 RBI’s.

Wherever Lawrie plays, whether it’s Anaheim on July 11 or his seemingly inevitable next and last stop on the Minor League ladder in Nashville, the Brewers second baseman of tomorrow is guaranteed to put on a show. “I want to take the extra base, I don’t just accept the double, I always want to go for the triple. I just play the game hard and I feel that if something goes wrong when I’m playing that way, that’s the way the game goes. If I were to get hurt without playing hard, then I think I would have more regrets so I just play hard.”

As of June 25, Lawrie is batting .299 (88-294) with a league leading ten triples, 20 doubles, six home runs and 26 walks.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Hunstville Stars Win Late In Jacksonville

Connor Shreve

The Stars battled through a low scoring affair Thursday to beat the South Division Jacksonville Suns by one run at the Baseball Grounds in Jacksonville, FL.

After both squads matched zeros through six, Huntsville struck first. Steffan Wilson struck out to lead off the seventh but the third strike wild pitch made for a tough play on Jacksonville catcher Vinny Rotino. Rotino missed his mark on the throw to first and allowed Wilson to take second base on the error. Taylor Green moved Wilson over with a long out to center. With the infield in it briefly looked as if the Suns would barely escape the trouble when Dayton Buller grounded out to the right side for the second put out of the inning. But again luck proved more loyal to the Stars than their opponent as Suns pitcher Andrew Miller again delivered a wild pitch low which deflected off Rotino’s gear in to the air and behind him far enough to entice Wilson to take home for the first run of the game.

Jacksonville came right back by breaking up Huntsville’s no hitter and taking the lead in the bottom half. Rotino struck first, in perhaps a show of redemption, with a single to right field which touched down just in front of a charging Steffan Wilson. The next batter Mark Saccomanno turned on a pitch and produced his first hit of the contest, two RBI home run that may have seemed like a game winner at the time. After a single and walk followed, Rivas departed without having picked up an out in the inning, leaving the work to Robert Hinton. Hinton did his job efficiently, needing only nine pitches to work out of the inning.

The first two Stars batters were quickly retired in the eighth inning facing new pitcher Garrett Parcell but still managed a dramatic comeback. Lorenzo Cain singled and stole his eighteenth base of the season prior to Caleb Gindl’s RBI triple, his first of 2010. Zelous Wheeler then continued his almost robotic run production with a game winning single that brought Gindle in for the third run of the game for the Stars.

Rivas again dominated minus one inning, the seventh was the trouble inning for Huntsville’s best starter. He gave up two singles, a walk and a two run home run in the inning but received a no decision thanks to the Stars comeback. Both runs Rivas allowed were earned over six complete innings on just three hits. The Stars starter struck out six while walking four. Robert Hinton and Jim Henderson did not allow a single hit in their combined three innings out of the pen. Hinton picked up the win, his second, and Henderson managed his third save of the year.

The Stars now own a 5-3 season record over the Suns with a chance to build upon that on Friday night. Game four of the current six game series is scheduled to start at 6:05 (CDT) in Jacksonville.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Stars start second half splendidly

By Aaron Morse

Lorenzo Cain drove in four runs, Caleb Gindl drove in three, and the Huntsville Stars (1-0) survived five errors to start the second half of the season on the right foot as they beat the Jacksonville Suns (0-1) by a score of 7-6 Tuesday night.

Huntsville got on the board right away as Brett Lawrie continued his hot hitting with a double to right with nobody out in the first. After a Lorenzo Cain single put runners at the corners, Caleb Gindl hit the ball deep enough to the outfield that Lawrie was able to score.

But Jacksonville took advantage of some shaky control from Stars’ starter Michael Bowman in the bottom half of the frame. With one away, Osvaldo Martinez drew a walk. Bowman proceeded to hit the next batter with a pitch. However he managed to get Lee Mitchell to fly to left for the second out of the inning. Bowman’s control let him down again though; this time on a throw to first. Mark Saccomanno hit a grounder back to the mound that Bowman threw wide to first, allowing a run to score to tie the game.

The Stars gave Bowman some more offense in the top of the second. With one away the red hot Dayton Buller extended his hitting streak to eight games with a double to left. After Bowman bunted him to third, Brett Lawrie drew a walk. That’s when Cain delivered the big blow, a triple to deep center field Gindl singled him home and the Stars grabbed the 4-1 advantage.

Poor defense allowed the Suns to get one back in the bottom of the second. With one out Tim Torres singled to left. Suns’ starter Elih Villanueva attempted to bunt the runner over and managed to reach when Dayton Buller couldn’t handle the ball. A wild pitch combined with a throwing error by Buller allowed Torres to cross the plate to make the score 4-2.

Neither team would score again until the bottom of the fourth when Vinny Rottino took Bowman deep to cut the Stars’ lead to 4-3.

Cain and the Stars had the answer in the top of the fifth. With one away, Lee Haydel singled and Buller drew a walk. Bowman bunted the runners over at which point Villanueva (6-4) was removed from the game. The righty went 4.2 innings, surrendering six runs on nine hits while walking four and striking out one.

New pitcher Kyle Gunderson immediately walked Brett Lawrie to load the bases. Cain came through with a two-run single and the Stars extended their lead to 6-3.

Gindl continued his big day with a solo shot in the sixth off Gunderson as the Stars had a seemingly comfortable 7-3 edge.

Bowman (7-5) tossed five innings, giving up three runs, only one of which was earned, on three hits. He walked two and struck-out five in the winning effort.

Reliever Eddie Morlan gave up a one-out double to Rottino in the sixth. Rottino stole third and scored on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 7-4.

They made things really interesting in the seventh. Morlan surrendered a single and walk to start the inning. That prompted manager Mike Guerrero to call on Donovan Hand to get out of the inning. He got off to a good start when Lee Mitchell hit into a double play. Unfortunately, yet another Stars error allowed Saccomanno to reach second base and a run to score. Matt Dominguez drove him home and the Stars only had a 7-6 edge.

Jim Henderson tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his second save of the year as the Stars survived the Suns’ repeated attempts at a rally. Despite five errors, Huntsville hung on to win their fifth in a row.

The Stars attempt to take game two of the series Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is at 12:05pm and can be heard only on www.huntsvillestars.com.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Stars Win Second Straight

Connor Shreve

The Huntsville Stars (31-37) received a stellar pitching performance from its ace and hung on despite a late Montgomery rally for a three run win on Friday night 9-6. Friday night’s win evened the season series between the two teams at 4-4.

Jeremy Hall (4-3 2.97) turned in to his own worst enemy in the second inning, allowing Huntsville to get on the score board first. A leadoff walk to Zelous Wheeler was the beginning of his unraveling. One out later, a balk allowed the Stars shortstop to advance in to scoring position. Chuckie Caufield sent a line drive in to the outfield to pick up an RBI. After advancing to second base on the throw, Caufield moved to third on a passed ball charged to Biscuits catcher Craig Albernaz. Hall followed with a miscue of his own, a wild pitch that scored Caufield. Dayton Buller who witnessed both the passed ball and wild pitch from the batters box followed with a walk to first but Hall did force a fly out to end the inning.

In the next inning, Huntsville again capitalized on the struggles of Hall. With Brett Lawrie on second and two outs, Wheeler launched his sixth home run of the year, a monster shot to left center field that Montgomery left fielder Leslie Anderson didn’t even bother chasing. Steffan Wilson and Taylor Green both took the worst of Hall’s problems; they were plunked with errant pitches in back to back at bats to set the table for Caufield who tagged his second home run in as many games to make it a seven run lead after three innings.

Montgomery (38-28) center fielder Rashad Eldridge led off the fourth with a single and did score but Amaury Rivas held the Biscuits to just that one run in his five complete innings. Rivas bounced back from a loss to Carolina in his last outing and struck out eight over five innings Friday while allowing only four hits and walking two. It is Rivas’ sixth with of the year, which ties Michael Bowman for the team lead, and his first in nearly a month. Huntsville’s ace pitched eight innings at home May 18 to lead the Stars to a one run decision over the Tennessee Smokies.

Rivas’ Counterpart Jeremy Hall entered the game with a miniscule 2.31 ERA but couldn’t find the strike zone often enough. He walked four batters and hit two in his 2 2/3 innings. A passed ball, a balk and a dropped foul ball all contributed to Hall’s troubles. Huntsville plated seven runs against Hall, six of them earned, while only connecting for three hits. Hall walked four and struck out one.

A hit batter and an error helped add to a four run seventh inning for the Biscuits. Huntsville, leading by seven runs at the end of the third inning, saw that lead shrink to three heading in to the final inning having given up five runs in the seventh and eighth combined.

Stars outfielder Chuck Caufield matched the Stars high RBI mark for the season with six. He went 4-4 and scored two runs. Taylor Green set the season record on May 31st in a game against Mobile at Joe Davis Stadium. Caufield is 6-13 over his last three games and has 8 runs batted in over that period.

Game four of the current series between the Visiting Biscuits and Stars starts Saturday at 6:00 p.m. (CDT) at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, AL. Jake McGee (2-40 3.65) will toe the rubber for Montgomery. The Stars will send Josh Butler (0-3 5.68) to the mound.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Stars drop eighth consecutive series

By Aaron Morse

The Carolina Mudcats (28-36) scored four runs in the first inning and never looked back as the Huntsville Stars (29-36) dropped Monday’s rubber match by a final score of 6-3.

Stars’ starter Josh Butler surrendered a lead-off single to Sean Danielson in the first. After Jose Castro bunted Danielson to second, Butler couldn’t locate the strike zone as he walked Sean Henry. Mike Costanzo made him pay by drilling a three-run home run to give the Mudcats the 3-0 lead. Butler got the next batter out, but the Mudcats would get some two-out offense thanks to a Devin Mesoraco single to left. Denis Phipps followed with a single of his own and Eric Eymann singled home Mesoraco to make the score 4-0.

Butler settled down nicely after his rough first frame as he ended up going five innings, giving up six hits and four runs. He walked one and struck-out four in the outing.

After being shut down by Mudcats’ starter Matt Fairel for the first five innings, the Stars rallied in the sixth. Caleb Gindl flexed his muscles as he slugged his team-leading sixth homer of the year to start things off. One out later Taylor Green chased Fairel from the game with a double to left. Mudcats’ manager David Bell called upon Lee Tabor to try and get them out of the inning. A passed ball moved Green to third and Chuckie Caufield got the job done with a RBI grounder to third and the Stars pulled to within two.

They got even closer in the eighth against new pitcher Ruben Medina. With two away Green reached thanks to an error by shortstop Jose Castro. Caufield made the Mudcats pay by smacking a RBI double to left; making the score 4-3.

Unfortunately for the Stars, Carolina got some insurance in the bottom half of the frame. Reliever Lucas Luetge gave up a single to Sean Henry and Henry immediately swiped second base. He struck-out Costanzo and Mike Guerrero brought in Nick Green to face the next batter. Green got a strike-out as well, but gave up a two-run shot to Mesoraco and Carolina took a 6-3 lead.

That’s how the game ended as the Stars got a two-out single in the ninth but nothing else as they dropped their eight consecutive series and third consecutive game.

Butler (0-3) suffered the loss while Fairel (1-2) went 5.1 innings for the win. Medina also pitched the ninth as he picked up his first save of the season.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Stars Fall in Scorcher Sunday Afternoon

Connor Shreve

Carolina’s Tom Cochran (3-2 2.62) dazzled on the mound Sunday afternoon to lead the Mudcats to their second straight victory at home, 5-1 over Huntsville (29-35). On a sizzling summer afternoon, Carolina (27-36) rallied for one big inning behind the team ace, it was all that Carolina needed to even the series at two games apiece.

Huntsville’s best early chance at a score was stopped in the second with pitcher Amaury Rivas batting. Dayton Buller and Chuckie Caufield followed a Steffan Wilson leadoff walk with singles. With one out Amaury Rivas, 0-15 this season, grounded in to a 3-2-3 double play to end the frame.

For the first time in four games at Five County Stadium, the Mudcats struck first. In the third inning Carolina tallied five hits to plate five runs. Rivas (5-5 3.04) was not helped by numerous Stars miscues. Buller was charged with a passed ball which interrupted a single and walk to start the inning. Kris Negron and Jose Castro followed up a foul bunt strikeout with singles to open the scoring. A visit to the mound from Stars pitching coach John Curtis apparently did nothing to calm the emotional Rivas who allowed two more RBI singles after the conference. Center fielder Lorenzo Cain committed two errors on the last hit to allow an extra run.

Rivas’ day was cut short thanks to the third inning. That was the only bump, albeit a big one, on the road Rivas traveled Sunday. He delivered 69 pitches over six complete innings, the third being the only inning Rivas threw to more than three batters. Huntsville’s ace allowed five runs, four of which were earned, on seven hits while striking out five Mudcats and walking one. He is 1-5 since going 4-0 and being named the Milwaukee Brewers minor league pitcher of the Month for April. Next time out, Rivas will still be searching for his first win since May 18; The May victory was a shining one run performance that held the first placed Smokies to just one run.

The Stars only run came on a seventh inning RBI single off the bat of Lee Haydel, who brought in Caufield after the left fielders one out double. Daryl Harang relieved Cochran and stranded two base runners by forcing Brett Lawrie to ground in to an inning ending double play.

The current ten game road trip closes Monday in Zebulon, NC. First pitch is set for 11:00 a.m. (CDT). Huntsville will win its first series in eight tries with a victory in the fifth and final game of the current series. Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Butler (0-2 5.14) is scheduled to make his fourth rehab start with the Stars before a day off Tuesday. Monday’s contest will be streamed live on www.huntsvillestars.com and pre-game coverage begins 15 minutes before first pitch.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Stars fall victim to the walk-off homer

By Aaron Morse

Devin Mesoraco took Jim Henderson deep in the bottom of the 11th as the Huntsville Stars (29-34) lost to the Carolina Mudcats (26-36) by a score of 6-5 Saturday night.

The Stars got off to a quick start thanks to back-to-back-to-back singles from Brett Lawrie, Lorenzo Cain, and Caleb Gindl in the top of the first. Mudcats’ starter Scott Carroll proceeded to plunk Zelous Wheeler and Lawrie scored to give Huntsville the 1-0 lead. Taylor Green hit into a double-play, scoring another run, but slowing down what had the potential to be a big inning; instead the Stars settled for the 2-0 edge.

The top of the order went back to work in the third. Lawrie started the inning with a double to left. Cain legged out an infield single to put runners the corners with nobody out. Gindl smacked a sacrifice fly and the Stars were up 3-0. A strike-out and a ground-out ended the inning with no further runs scoring.

Stars’ starter Mark Rogers was in complete control for the first four innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth. He struck-out the lead-off hitter. Unfortunately the ball got away from catcher Dayton Buller and the Mudcats had a man on with no outs. Dave Sappelt drilled a RBI triple to make the score 3-1. Rogers responded by getting his second K of the inning. He got the next batter to hit a routine grounder to Steffan Wilson at first; Wilson fired home in an attempt to get Sappelt at the plate. Sappelt bowled over Buller causing the ball to get jarred loose and the Mudcats pulled within one. Rogers struck-out Carroll for his third K of the inning, but only the second out. Kris Negron followed with a double that landed just out of the reach of a diving Lee Haydel to tie the game.

Huntsville responded right away as Taylor Green singled with one away in the sixth. Wilson doubled to put runners at second and third. At that point, Lee Haydel grounded to shortstop. The throw to first was low and got away, allowing not only Green but Wilson to score as well.

With Huntsville up 5-3, the bullpen could not hold onto the lead. Robert Hinton allowed an inherited runner to score when he balked home Sappelt in the sixth.

Rogers’ final line on the evening was 5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, and 7 K’s. He would take a no-decision as the Mudcats rallied to tie the score in the ninth.

With Eddie Morlan on in relief, Devin Mesoraco lined a single to left. An infield single put runners at first and second with nobody down. Denis Phipps tried to bunt the runners over. His attempt was unsuccessful as Morlan threw Mesoraco out at third. It didn’t matter though as Jose Castro drilled a RBI single to tie the game at five. Morlan got out of the inning without any further damage, but the damage was done as Huntsville headed to their third extra innings game of the year.

Entering the game, Huntsville was 2-0 in extra frames, but after leaving two stranded in the top of the 11th, the Stars saw it come back to haunt them when Mesoraco crushed a Henderson offering over the left field wall.

Brett Lawrie had a big day for the Stars as he went 3-5 with two runs scored. Cain and Gindl both tallied two hits apiece.

Jeremy Horst (2-2) picked up the win in relief while Henderson (2-1) suffered the loss.

The Stars are back in action Sunday afternoon as they take on the Mudcats at 1:00pm central time, with the pre-game show beginning on the Stars Radio Network at 12:45.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Pitchers Duel Tilts Toward Stars

Connor Shreve

The Hunstville Stars (29-33) won a second consecutive road game Friday night 2-1 over the Carolina Mudcats (25-36) in Zebulon. Huntsville has used strong first innings in both victories so far against North Division rival Carolina this season.

Brett Lawrie needed no time to get comfortable against Matt Klinker. On the first pitch of the game Lawrie launched his fifth home run this season to left center field but Huntsville could not take advantage of the base runners that followed him. Caleb Gindle, Zelous Wheeler and Taylor Green all reached with one out but Steffan Wilson flew out and Lee Haydel was retired on strikes to end the inning.

A Steffan Wilson home run in the fourth added to the Stars run total and was the winning hit.

After leaving seven runners on base in game one, Huntsville took a game two win on Friday despite continuing the trend with six runners left on base.

If the LOB stat is an area of concern for the Stars, it’s something that likely feels more like a lasting illness for those in the Mudcats dugout. Carolina left seven runners on base but was the victim of impressive Huntsville defense. Though the hurlers took center stage, Caleb Gindl managed to steal some glory by flashing the leather in the sixth. With a sinking liner off the bat off Dave Sappelt threatening to give the Mudcats their best scoring chance, Gindl made a diving catch running towards the infield on the foul line to retire the Carolina center fielder. Two groundouts ensued to end the inning.

A pitcher’s duel followed the first inning with Huntsville’s Michael Bowman (6-4 5.03) throwing arguably his best game in the 2010 campaign. His biggest spot of trouble came in the seventh; It was the second time in the game Bowman faced a Carolina runner on third with nobody out. Only this time Carolina only trailed by one run after Daniel Yarbrough singled and was brought home thanks to a Denis Phipps triple, his second this year. But the bottom of the lineup could not get a good look at any of Bowman’s next and final pitches. A pop foul, strikeout and groundout ended the threat and preserved a one run lead for the Stars bullpen to hold.

Bowman pitched seven innings, his longest outing this season, allowed only one run and struck out two on six hits. His six wins leads the team. Huntsville is undefeated over Bowman’s last four starts.

First pitch in game three is scheduled for 5:15 (CDT) at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, NC followed by a matinee 1 p.m. start Sunday. Huntsville would guarantee a series victory with a win Saturday. Game three can be heard on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network (AM 1450/FM 92.9 WTKI, Huntsville) and online at www.huntsvillestars.com.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Cody shines as Stars edge Mudcats

By Aaron Morse

Chris Cody tossed five strong innings and the Huntsville Stars (28-33) prevailed 5-3 over the Carolina Mudcats (25-35) Thursday night.

With one away in the first Lorenzo Cain smacked to center off Mudcats’ starter Travis Webb. Caleb Gindl proceeded to wrestle the RBI lead back with a single to center to drive home Cain. After Zelous Wheeler legged out an infield single, Taylor Green doubled in Gindl, putting runners at second and third with only one out. A wild pitch scored Wheeler and the Stars took a 3-0 lead. Steffan Wilson followed with a sacrifice fly. Green crossed the plate and Huntsville had a four-run advantage.

Carolina cut the lead in half in the bottom of the frame against Cody. With two down, Sean Henry drew a walk. Mike Costanzo followed with a two-run blast and just like that it was 4-2.

After the wild first inning both starters settled down quite nicely. Webb and Cody went five innings each, but Cody got the better of his fellow lefty. Cody only surrendered two hits and two runs. He walked three and struck-out three as well. Meanwhile Webb scattered six hits, giving up all four runs in the first. He walked one and struck-out three.

The bullpens took over from there and the Stars were able to add an insurance run in the eighth. Zelous Wheeler drew a lead-off walk against Philippe Valiquette. Green grounded out and Wheeler advanced to second. He advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a Wilson ground-out.

The Mudcats made one last charge in the bottom of the ninth against Stars’ reliever Eddie Morlan. With two away Devin Mesoraco doubled to left. Dave Sappelt followed that with a double of his own to make the score 5-3.

But Morlan struck-out Denis Phipps to end the game and pick up his first save of the year.

Cody (3-6) earned the victory while Webb (2-4) suffered the loss. Jim Henderson worked two scoreless innings and Donovan Hand tossed one as well to pick up holds.

Lawrie tallied three hits at the top of the order and Wilson drove in two runs despite going 0-3.

Carolina managed only four hits in the contest while the Stars pounded out 11 of their own. Huntsville left seven stranded but still came away with the win.

The Stars take on the Mudcats in game two of the five game set Friday night beginning at 6:15pm central time. Michael Bowman (5-4) will be looking for a team-best sixth win of the year.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Stars Offense Limited in Loss to Smokies

Connor Shreve

Huntsville’s offense struggled for the second consecutive game against the first placed Tennessee Smokies in a 4-2 loss at Smokies Park Wednesday night.

It took Cubs top prospect Josh Vitters to put the Stars in trailing position. Both Blake Lalli and Matt Spencer walked to set the table for Vitters in the second inning. The 2007 first round draftee looped a ball in to right field for the RBI. Stars starter Josh Butler, making his third rehab start this season for the Milwaukee Brewers, worked out of the jam with a strike out and induced a ground out from Smokies pitcher Hung-Wen Chen.

Huntsville evened the score at one run a piece thanks to a miscalculation on the part of Lalli. The Smokies first baseman scooped a Taylor Green grounder and opted to start a 3-6-3 double play instead of stepping on first to start the action. Much to the dismay of Lalli, Zelous Wheeler hustled down the base path and was called safe at second though the turn was in time to retire Green at first. The play allowed Lorenzo Cain to score from third after he led the inning off with a base hit.

The home club benefitted from some two out magic that made the difference in the game. Brandon Guyer’s second home run of the season gave the Smokies the lead. It came in the fifth inning with two outs and Tony Thomas on base. The Smokies lead was extended further with two outs in the sixth. Vitters and Matt Spencer strung together two base hits in the clutch to score Lalli before the inning came to a close with a Tony Thomas ground out.

Josh Butler allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out two. The improvement from his last start, a loss to the Mobile Bay Bears, came in the walks department; Butler walked two compared to the five he gave free passes to on the June fourth outing in Huntsville. Much like last time, most of the damage on Butler came late. Three of the four runs came in the final two innings of his outing. In throwing 80 pitches, Butler set his season high pitch count with the Stars. With a less stringent pitch count limit Butler was allowed to throw six innings, two better than either of his previous two starts.

Huntsville rallied in the ninth for a run but could not come up with more. Green started the frame with a walk followed by a hit batter, Steffan Wilson. With an out, Anderson Machado singled home Green. David Cale entered in relief and struck out Chuckie Caufield before getting Brett Lawrie to line out deep to left field to end the threat.

With 10 games left to determine the first half division champion, Huntsville is 9.5 games back of the Smokies. The Stars road trip continues Thursday against a new opponent. Huntsville plays the Carolina Mudcats for the first time this season for five games before the Stars return home next Wednesday. First pitch Thursday at Five County Stadium in Zebulon is scheduled for 6:15.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Stars shutout by Smokies

By Aaron Morse

Amaury Rivas tossed 6.2 innings of solid baseball, but the Huntsville Stars (27-32) provided no run support as they fell 3-0 to the Tennessee Smokies (35-23) Tuesday night.

Tennessee would get all the runs they needed in the bottom half of the first. Tony Campana walked to lead-off the inning. One out later Ty Wright hit a deep fly to left that just got over the wall for a 2-0 Smokies lead. With two away, the Smokies strung together four consecutive singles, including a RBI base-hit off the bat of Josh Vitters to score Robinson Chirinos. The inning could have gotten worse, but on a Tony Thomas single to right, Caleb Gindl gunned down Brandon Guyer at the plate to end the frame.

Chris Carpenter of the Smokies retired the first 10 hitters he faced before Lorenzo Cain legged out an infield single in the fourth. He stole second and moved to third on a ground-out. Cain was left stranded when Zelous Wheeler grounded out to end the inning.

Lee Haydel drew a two-out walk in the fifth but was immediately caught trying to steal.

Brett Lawrie smacked a two-out single in the sixth and would be left stranded when Cain grounded out.

The Stars got a great scoring opportunity in the seventh against Carpenter. Caleb Gindl started things off with a single to left. He immediately stole second to put a man in scoring position with nobody out. After Zelous Wheeler struck-out, the Smokies replaced Carpenter with the lefty Ryan Buchter.

Taylor Green hit a hard shot to deep left off Buchter that Ty Wright chased down for the second out of the inning. Steffan Wilson followed with a pop-out and the Stars were denied again.

Still down 3-0, the Stars made one last run at the game in the ninth. With one away, Cain legged out his second infield single of the day and advanced to second on a throwing error. Gindl drew a walk and the Stars brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Zelous Wheeler. Wheeler hit a grounder in the hole at short that Marwin Gonzalez chased down. He threw to second base to just barely get the diving Gindl for the second out of the inning.

With runners at the corners, Taylor Green grounded into a force-out to end the game.

Rivas (5-4) went 6.2 innings, giving up six hits and three runs. He walked two and struck-out five. Five of the six hits he surrendered came in the first inning.

Carpenter (5-2) was brilliant as he went 6.1 innings, scattering three hits, walking one and striking-out six.

Buchter picked up his eighth hold of the year by going 1.2 innings and David Cales pitched the ninth for his fourth save of the season.

With the loss, the Stars fall to 8.5 games back of the Smokies in the north division. They look to take the finale and the series on Wednesday. Josh Butler will be on the mound. First pitch is at 6:15 pm central time.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Stars earn comeback win over Smokies

By Aaron Morse

Andy Machado lined a pitch past Smokies’ shortstop Marwin Gonzalez and the Huntsville Stars (27-31) scored four runs in the eighth inning on their way to a 6-4 win over the Tennessee Smokies (34-23) Monday night.

It was Tennessee getting on the board in the bottom of the first against Stars’ starter Mark Rogers. Back-to-back singles by Tony Campana and Marwin Gonzalez put runners on first and second with nobody out. They pulled off a double steal and Rogers was in all sorts of trouble. He managed to strike-out team RBI leader Ty Wright for the first out of the inning. Rogers got Blake Lalli to hit a slow chopper to short which Zelous Wheeler booted. Campana scored on the play and the Smokies had runners at the corners with only one down. A RBI ground-out off the bat of Robinson Chirinos made it 2-0 Smokies.

Huntsville loaded the bases with only one away in the second inning. However Smokies’ starter Craig Muschko struck-out two straight batters to get out of the jam unscathed.

In the top of the third, bad defense gave the Stars a run. Brett Lawrie hit a grounder to third that Josh Vitters threw wild to first. Muschko tried to pick him off like he had in the first inning. The throw was wild though, and Lawrie scampered around to third. A Lorenzo Cain ground-out drove home Lawrie to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Tennessee smacked back-to-back singles to start the third against Rogers. Lalli’s single sent Wright to third base and Chirinos picked up his second RBI of the evening with a sacrifice fly to center.

Rogers went five plus innings, giving up three runs (two earned), on six hits. He only walked one while striking out four.

Facing a 3-1 hole, the Stars chipped away in the sixth. Caleb Gindl struck-out his first two times up, but he singled to lead-off the frame. A hit-and-run ground-out off the bat of Zelous Wheeler advanced Gindl to second. With two away, Steffan Wilson drove a ball to center that Campana attempted to catch on a dive. It got past him and Gindl scored to make the score 3-2.

Muschko went six innings, scattering six hits while giving up two runs, one of which was earned. He walked one and struck-out eight Stars.

The Smokies took a two-run lead for the third time in the game thanks to a Tony Thomas solo homer in the seventh against Stars’ reliever Jim Henderson.

The Stars’ big eighth innings started with one away when Gindl singled to left. Wheeler hit a chopper to third that Russ Canzler had go off his glove into shallow left field. Gindl went from first to third on the play, which was ruled a single. Taylor Green hit a single that bounced over the head of Lalli at first base to score Gindl and cut the Smokies’ lead to 4-3. With runners at the corners Wilson came up big again as he doubled to center to tie the game. That was the end of the day for reliever Jake Muyco who went 1.1 innings out of the ‘pen.

New pitcher Luke Sommer struck-out Chuckie Caufield and intentionally walked Dayton Buller. Andy Machado, pinch hitting for Henderson, hit a hard one hopper that scooted under the glove of Gonzalez, scoring Green and Wilson. It was ruled an error, but Machado picks up the most productive 0-1 of the Stars’ season.

Robert Hinton tossed an inning of shutout ball for his second hold of the year, and the Brandon Kintzler-less Stars got a save from Donovan Hand. Hand threw a scoreless ninth for his first save in 2010.

Henderson (2-0) worked two innings for the win while Muyco (1-2) picked up the loss.

Green, Gindl, and Wilson all had multi-hit games, with Green going 3-5 and Wilson driving in two runs.

With the win the Stars move to 7.5 games back of Tennessee in the north division.

Amaury Rivas (5-3, 2.64) takes the mound Tuesday as the Stars look to clinch the series victory. First pitch is at 6:15pm central time and can be heard on www.huntsvillestars.com.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Stars Outlast Smokies

Connor Shreve

A rain delay which pushed back the start of Sundays game an hour and twenty minutes was not enough to slow the offense in an 8-6 victory for Huntsville (26-31). The Stars proved resilient in weathering a late surge from the Smokies (34-22) to snap a season long losing streak at four games. Neither Huntsville nor the opposition took much time in scoring right out of the gate.

In the Stars first, Lorenzo Cain made it aboard with a single before swiping second base for his team leading 13th stolen base of the year. Caleb Gindle brought in Cain and picked up a double on a misplayed ball in left field. Ty Wright initially broke in on the ball before making an ill fated attempt to retreat as it bounced over his head and rolled all the way to the wall. Huntsville lost the lead in the bottom of the first as Wright and Blake Lalli singled with two outs, which set up a two RBI triple off the bat of Matt Spencer.

Cain again took center stage in the second inning when Huntsville scored three runs to retake the lead. Anderson Machado started the frame by doubling on a deep fly to center. Huntsville’s newest Star Dayton Buller smacked a single before Brett Lawrie doubled both runners home. Cain proceeded to mark the inning with a run scoring triple before the second came to a close.

Buller, whose contract was purchased from Camden (NJ) of the independent Atlantic League on June fifth, added a three run home run in the third inning.

Though Tennessee trailed by five runs after three innings, the Smokies continually ate away at the Stars lead with two unanswered runs in the fourth and two in the seventh. The first run across in the seventh came before Stars starter Michael Bowman (5-4 5.54)departed and reliever Eduardo Morlan inherited a runner on third that scored thanks to Marwin Gonzales’ sacrifice fly.

Bowman was charged with both of the seventh inning runs; all six against him were earned. He worked one out in to the seventh, allowed eight hits, struck out five, walked one and departed after having thrown 92 pitches. Huntsville closer Brandon Kintzler entered in the eighth and pitched to five batters in the extended save. Kintzler’s ten saves is the third best in the Southern League.

Austin Bibens-Dirkx (4-2 2.85) struggled throughout his three innings on the mound. The Stars scored six earned runs and seven in total over the first three innings. His outing was nothing like the last time he faced Huntsville. On May 15 at Joe Davis Stadium Bibens-Dirkx picked up his first win going six innings and allowing only one unearned run in an 8-2 Tennessee victory. On Sunday though, his control was absent and he walked three Stars batters and struck out only one.

Game three of Huntsville’s current North Division road trip is Monday night at Smokies Park in Kodak, TN. First pitch for all three remaining games against the Smokies is 6:15 pm (CDT). Monday's contest will be broadcast online at www.huntsvillestars.com.

Poor defense burns Stars again

By Aaron Morse

The Tennessee Smokies (34-21) scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh that turned out to be the difference as the Huntsville Stars (25-31) fell by a score of 8-5 Saturday night.

The Stars got some two out lightning in the top of the first to take an early 2-0 lead against Smokies’ starter Alberto Cabrera. After Brett Lawrie grounded-out and Lorenzo Cain struck-out, Caleb Gindl drilled a double to center that Tony Campana couldn’t handle cleanly. Gindl was able to advance to third due to the first of what would be three Smokies’ errors in the contest. Cabrera started struggling with his control as he issued back-to-back walks to Zelous Wheeler and Drew Anderson to load the bases. That’s when Taylor Green continued his recent RBI tear with a two-RBI single to score Gindl and Wheeler.

Tennessee would take the lead back against Stars’ starter Alex Periard in the bottom of the third with some two-out production of their own. Tony Thomas hit a slower roller to Wheeler at short, who threw wild to first, allowing Thomas to advance to second on the play. Two outs later Marwin Gonzalez doubled to center to drive in Thomas. A Ty Wright single up the middle plated Gonzalez to the tie the game. Blake Lalli kept the hit parade going with a double to give Tennessee a 3-2 lead.

The Stars came back quickly in the top of the fourth. Lee Haydel and Dayton Buller drew back-to-back walks. Periard bunted them over and an error on the play allowed him to reach safely. Lawrie singled home Haydel to tie the game at three. That’s when Cain hit a grounder to first, Lalli tagged Lawrie then threw home, but the collision at the plate caused the ball to get away allowing two to score and Huntsville took a 5-3 lead.

But the Stars couldn’t hold on as the Smokies got three in the sixth and two in the seventh to take the lead for good.

Periard gave up a single to Matthew Spencer to start the sixth. He got the next batter out, but was replaced by Donovan Hand. Hand got the first batter he faced, but pinch hitter Russ Canzler drilled a two-run bomb to tie the game at five.

Then in the seventh it all came apart. With one out new pitcher Mark Willinsky walked Lalli. After that another Stars error came back to burn them as grounder to second was booted by Lawrie. A fielder’s choice put runners at the corners and a HBP loaded them up with two away. Thomas and pinch hitter Steve Clevenger came up huge with back-to-back singles. Thomas drove in one with his base knock while Clevenger provided the insurance with two RBI on his hit.

Willinksy (2-2) took the loss while reliever Ryan Buchter (3-0) picked up the win. David Cales pitched two scoreless innings to earn his third save of the year.

Brett Lawrie paced the Stars with four hits while Taylor Green chalked up two RBI. But it was Lawrie’s error that opened the floodgates in the seventh.

With the loss the Stars fall to 9.5 games out of first. They take on the Smokies again Sunday starting at 4pm.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Stars fall victim to the big inning

By Aaron Morse

The Mobile BayBears (28-25) used a three run fourth inning to pull away from the Huntsville Stars (25-30) and prevail 5-2 Friday night.

Stars’ starting pitcher Josh Butler got through the first two innings unscathed, but ran into trouble in the third. With one away, that thorn in the side of the Stars, Collin Cowgill, drew a walk. Evan Frey followed that up with a single to left. Then the top of the order completed their damage with a Kory Casto single to right that drove in Cowgill to make it 1-0 BayBears.

But it was the fourth inning where it fell apart for Butler. Bryan Byrne started things with a double to right. One out later Jacob Elmore singled home Byrne. Ollie Linton was hit by a pitch, putting runners at first and second with only one away. It looked like Butler might get out of the inning with no further damage when catcher Anderson De La Rosa picked off Elmore at second base for the second out of the inning. But pitcher Pat McAnaney singled up the gut, and Cowgill managed an infield single to load the bases with two down. That’s when Evan Frey hit a grounder that just sneaked past Drew Anderson at first and down the right field line for a two-RBI double. The inning would end thanks to a diving catch by Taylor Green on a sharply hit line drive, but the damage was done.

Facing a 4-0 deficit, the Stars did respond right away in the bottom of the fourth. Brett Lawrie singled and Caleb Gindl hit a line shot off the top of the wall in right to put runners at second and third with one away. After Zelous Wheeler was robbed of a base-hit by a leaping Elmore at second base, Anderson doubled home both runners to make the score 4-2.

But that would be all the scoring the Stars could muster against McAnaney (2-4), who went 6.2 innings to pick up the win.

Meanwhile Butler (0-1) was done after four frames and the sixth against reliever Robert Hinton.

Leyson Septimo worked a scoreless ninth for his second save of the year.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Stars make six errors in loss to BayBears

The Mobile BayBears (27-25) got two runs in the first inning and never looked back as they knocked off the Huntsville Stars (25-29) by a final score of 7-4 Thursday night.

Huntsville made six errors in the contest, but only one of the seven Mobile runs was unearned.

Stars’ starting pitcher Chris Cody has had issues with the long ball all season, and nothing much changed tonight as Evan Frey crushed a solo shot with one away in the first. After Kory Casto walked, Huntsville continued their recent issues on defense as a pick-off attempt went awry as the ball bounced off the glove of Drew Anderson and Casto advanced to second base. With two down, Bryan Byrne singled home Casto and Mobile had a 2-0 edge.

After the rough start, Cody (2-6) settled down and pitched really well, going five innings scattering six hits while surrendering only the two runs, one of which was earned. He walked two and struck-out four in the losing effort.

The BayBears tacked on a run in the top of the sixth against Stars’ reliever Mark Willinsky. Jake Wald singled home Taylor Harbin in the frame, but Willinsky was able to get out of the inning without any more runs scoring.

The Stars finally got to BayBears’ starter Joshua Collmenter (3-0) in the bottom half of the frame thanks to a Brett Lawrie solo homer.

Down 3-1, the Stars’ bullpen couldn’t keep the game close as Mobile scored two in the seventh. The Stars responded with a sacrifice fly from Taylor Green in the seventh, but the BayBears tacked on two more off reliever Nick Green in the bottom half of the frame.

Down 7-2, the Stars made a nice attempt at a rally in the bottom of the ninth. Cain reached on an error and Caleb Gindl doubled him home for his team-leading 30th RBI of the year. Zelous Wheeler singled to put two on with nobody out. After Drew Anderson hit into a force-out, Taylor Green continued his hot hitting with a RBI single to drive in Gindl and make the score 7-4. But Lee Haydel and Sean McCraw both grounded out to end the game.

Huntsville will look to take the finale of the five game set Friday night at 7pm. Josh Butler (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will be on the mound for the Stars. You can hear all the action on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network and www.huntsvillestars.com.

Poor defense costs Stars against BayBears

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars smacked two homers but also made four errors on their way to a 5-4 defeat at the hands of the Mobile BayBears Wednesday night.

Daninel Merklinger (0-1), making his Double-A debut, ran into some trouble in the top half of the first. Collin Cowgill started things with a double off the top of the wall in deep right-center field. Evan Frey bunted the ball back to the mound in an attempt to move Cowgill to third, but Merklinger’s throw to first pulled Drew Anderson off the bag and everyone was safe. After Kory Casto struck-out, Konrad Schmidt hit a sacrifice fly to center that played Cowgill for the first of what would be a number of unearned runs in the game.

The Stars had answer though in the bottom half of the first. With one away, the league’s leading hitter Lorenzo Cain tripled. Then the Stars’ RBI leader Caleb Gindl hit a deep fly ball to left that drove home Cain to tie the game.

Perhaps the biggest Stars’ miscue of the night came in the top of the third. Once again it was Cowgill getting the ball rolling with a single to left. Frey followed that up with a single of his own. A deep fly ball moved both runners up 90 feet, but Merklinger was able to get the dangerous Schmidt to ground back to the mound for out number two. That’s when Bryan Byrne hit a chopper to second baseman Brett Lawrie. The ball snuck under Lawrie’s glove, allowing both runners to score as the BayBears took a 3-1 lead.

Mobile got some insurance in the top of the fifth. With one away Frey doubled to right. Merklinger proceeded to make his third throwing error of the day as he attempted to pick-off Frey at second, but his throw hit the runner, allowing him to advance to third. After Merklinger hit Casto with the pitch, Jim Henderson was called upon to get out of the inning. Schmidt greeted Henderson with his second sacrifice fly of the game to extend the advantage to 4-1. Henderson would get out of the inning without any more runs crossing the plate.

He would not be so fortunate in the top of the sixth. Taylor Harbin singled with nobody out and Henderson hit Cyle Hankerd with a pitch. He experienced more control issues as he walked Jake Elmore to load the bases with nobody out. After he got the pitcher Barry Enright to pop-out, Cowgill hit into a fielder’s choice that drove in Harbin.

With the Stars down 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Mat Gamel smacked a two-run homer and Zelous Wheeler followed that with a solo shot of his own to cut the deficit to 5-4.

But that’s all they would get as Enright (4-1) settled down enough to go seven innings, scattering seven hits and giving up four runs on his way to the victory.

Josh Ellis worked around a Drew Anderson double to pick up the save.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Stars’ offense explodes as they romp Mobile

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (25-27) used a 10-run second inning to propel themselves to an 11-2 victory over the Mobile BayBears (25-25) Tuesday night at Joe Davis Stadium.

It was actually Mobile taking an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a lead-off home run off the bat of Collin Cowgill. One out later, starting pitcher Michael Bowman was hit in the shin by a line drive and had to be removed from the game. On came Donovan Hand (2-1), who would toss 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball to get the win.

BayBears starter Bryan Shaw (1-5) gave no indication he’d struggle as he sent the Stars down 1-2-3 in their half of the first. Zelous Wheeler drew a lead-off walk and Drew Anderson got the first hit of the game by singling to left. Taylor Green, starting at second base to give Brett Lawrie a rare night off, walked to load the bases. Lee Haydel singled home two and Sean McCraw, getting a rare start, singled home Green to make the score 3-0.

But they were only getting started. Donovan Hand helped out his own cause with a ringing double to center that plated Haydel and McCraw. After Lorenzo Cain walked, Caleb Gindl joined the hitting party with a single to left to drive home Hand. Mat Gamel, the ninth man to come to the plate, singled to re-load the bases.

That would mercifully signal the end of the day for Shaw as the BayBears brought in Bryan Henry from the bullpen. He would get the first out of the inning when Wheeler grounded out, but Cain scored on the play and the Stars had a 7-0 lead. After Anderson lined out, Green hit his second homer in as many days as he blasted a three-run shot over the right field fence.

When the dust cleared it was 10-1 Stars. They would tack on one more in the bottom of the sixth on a Caleb Gindl solo shot. Meanwhile, the BayBears got one back off reliever Eddie Morlan in the seventh thanks to a solo homer off the bat of Cyle Hankerd.

Everyone in the Stars’ starting lineup tallied a hit and scored in a run in the game. Green’s three RBI gives him nine over the past two days. Gindl, Gamel, Anderson, and McCraw all tallied multi-hit games.

The Diamond Jaxx and the Smokies also won Tuesday night so the Stars remain 5.5 games back in the north division.

They’ll send Daniel Merklinger (2-1, 4.56 ERA in Brevard County) to the mound Wednesday for his Double-A debut. First pitch is scheduled for 7pm central time.