Stars blanked by Biscuits

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (29-29, 62-66) managed only four hits in a 7-0 defeat at the hands of the Montgomery Biscuits (27-31, 65-61) Tuesday night.

Despite the low hit total, the Stars did get runners on base in every inning except the second. They left nine men stranded, and went 0-7 with runners in scoring position. The Stars also hit into three double plays.

Alex Torres (10-6), Justin Dowdy, and Matt Gorgen combined to shutout the Stars.

Meanwhile, Huntsville starter Michael Bowman (9-11) got off to a good start, shutting down the Biscuits for the first three innings. But he ran into some trouble in the fourth. With one away, Nevin Ashley drew a walk. John Matulia followed with a ground-rule double, putting runners at second and third with only one away. Henry Wrigley drove in the first run of the game with a single to left. Matulia advanced to third, putting runners at the corners with still only one down. Drew M. Anderson drove in the second run of the frame with a RBI ground-out.

The same part of the order did more damage in the sixth. With one away, Matulia singled to right. After Wrigley drew a walk, Anderson doubled in a run to make the score 3-0. Bowman got the second out of the frame, but the Stars brought in Eddie Morlan to try and get the final out. He would, but only after giving up a three-run homer to Mike Folli.

Bowman’s final line ended up being: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, and 5 K’s. He would take the loss as the Stars could get no offense going.

Montgomery added one more run in the eighth against Robert Hinton as Matt Spring doubled home Anderson.

With the loss, the Stars remain 4.5 games out of the Wild Card race behind the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. They drop to eight back in the division with 12 to play of the Tennessee Smokies.

Tune in Wednesday afternoon for a matinee as the Stars look to salvage the finale of the three-game set. Mark Rogers (5-8, 3.93 ERA) takes the mound beginning at 1:00 p.m. central time. You can catch all the action on www.huntsvillestars.com.