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.