Anderson ties a record and Stars get another dramatic win

By Aaron Morse

Drew Anderson tied the Stars’ franchise record with his 71st career double, Caleb Gindl smacked a walk-off double off the leg of the pitcher, and the Huntsville Stars (24-17, 57-54) stunned the Carolina Mudcats (19-22, 49-61) in come-from-behind fashion by a final score of 6-5 Friday night.

Carolina got on the board with a solo home run off the bat of Dave Sappelt in the first. They’d tack on one more in the second thanks to a bases-loaded wild pitch uncorked by Stars’ starter Wily Peralta.

Peralta ran up a high pitch count, going only 4.1 innings, giving up six hits and two runs, both earned. He walked two and struck-out two. Peralta threw 93 pitches, 53 of them for strikes.

Meanwhile Huntsville gave him the lead in the fourth. Tom Cochran retired the first nine batters he faced, but that changed big time the second time around the order. Gindl drew a lead-off walk and Brett Lawrie played some small ball, reaching on a bunt single. Andy Machado lined a single up the gut to load the bases for Anderson. The slugger crushed his 15th double of the year, clearing the bases and launching himself into the Stars’ record books. It was Anderson’s 71st career double as a Star, tying him with Jason Wood for the most doubles in franchise history.

The 3-2 lead became a 4-2 lead when Lawrie doubled home Lee Haydel in the fifth.

Nick Green got the Stars out of a big jam in the fifth and worked a scoreless sixth inning. But the right-hander ran into trouble in the seventh.

With one away he walked Mike Costanzo and Luis Terrero followed with a single to right. Normally a visit to the mound from pitching coach John Curtis does wonders, not this time as Devin Mesoraco launched a three-run bomb to propel the Mudcats ahead by a score of 5-4. That was it for Green as Jim Henderson entered and got the final two outs of the inning.

The Stars finally got some offense going against reliever Bradley Boxberger in the ninth inning. Chris Nowak led-off with a single to center. Taylor Green came back from an 0-2 count to draw an eight-pitch walk. Mike Guerrero instructed Patrick Arlis to bunt the runners over and he did exactly that.

Then the Mudcats took a risk by intentionally walking Lee Haydel to get to the dangerous Zelous Wheeler. Wheeler was pinch hitting for pitcher Eddie Morlan and he looked a bit rusty as he struck-out, leaving it up to Gindl.

Caleb had not been having a good series, having gone 1-17 entering the AB. But the law of averages took over. Gindl lined a ball off the leg of Boxberger and the ball bounced into no-man’s land on the infield. Gindl improbably got a two-RBI double out of the play as Nowak and Green came around to score and the Stars walked off as winners again.

Morlan’s (2-2) scoreless ninth inning was good enough for the Win and Boxberger (1-2) took the loss.

Lawrie, Machado, and Haydel all tallied multi-hit games for the Stars while Anderson and Gindl combined to drive in five of Huntsville’s six runs.

The Stars remain one game back of the division-leading Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League North. They take on Tennessee in a huge five game series beginning Saturday night at 5:15 p.m. central time. Tune in to the Stars Radio Network beginning at 5:00 p.m. for the Window World Pre-Game Report. Michael Bowman (8-8, 5.28 ERA) takes on Chris Carpenter (7-5, 3.21 ERA).