Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Stars Playoff Hopes Waning

Connor Shreve

Huntsville failed to rally in Montgomery Tuesday evening and came out on the bottom end of a 3-2 final score.

The loss, with a West Tennessee victory, moved the Stars to four games back in the wild card chase with Huntsville's elimination number now at three games.

The low scoring affair didn't start that way with both squads combining for four of the five total runs in the first two innings. Zelous Wheeler scored Huntsville's first run in the second inning on a play that handcuffed the Stars chances of adding to the total. Wheeler doubled to leadoff the inning and advanced on a wild pitch. He scored on a grounder off the bat of Chris Nowak that wiped the bases clean and accounted for the first two outs of the frame.

Michael Fiers kept Huntsville in the game with four shutout innings of relief. Stars starter Mike Bowman lost his 12th game of the season, allowing three earned runs in four innings.

The Stars and Biscuits play game two on Wednesday evening beginning at 7:05 CDT.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Stars split twin bill with Mobile

By Aaron Morse

Caleb Gindl enjoyed a 5-6 double header and the Huntsville Stars (31-31, 64-68) won game two by a final score of 2-1 after dropping game one 5-3 in Sunday’s twin bill with the Mobile BayBears (35-26, 71-58).

Game one did not go the Stars’ way from the beginning. With one out in the first, Huntsville starter Wily Peralta (1-3) issued back-to-back walks. Konrad Schmidt made him pay as he unleashed a three-run home run to give Mobile a 3-0 lead. Ryan Wheeler followed with a homer of his own to extend the advantage to 4-0.

The Stars clawed back against Mobile starter Joshua Collmenter in the fourth. With two gone, Zelous Wheeler singled to left. Collmenter got a bit wild at that point as he walked the next two hitters. That set up Gindl who crushed a two-RBI double to cut the BayBears’ lead in half.

Mobile chased Peralta from the game in the fifth. Collin Cowgill led-off with an infield single. Peralta walked two batters in a row to load the bases with nobody out. In came Robert Hinton, who got Ryan Wheeler to fly out to shallow center. Then Taylor Harbin hit a tailor-made double play ball to Zelous Wheeler at short. But Wheeler bobbled the ball and his only play was to first. Cowgill scored on the play to make it 5-2 in favor of the BayBears.

Huntsville appeared to be in business in the sixth against new pitcher Josh Ellis. With one away, Chris Nowak and Gindl smacked back-to-back singles. Then with two down, pinch hitter Andy Machado came up big with a RBI single, putting runners at the corners and bringing Lee Haydel to the plate with the score 5-3. The BayBears brought in Daniel Strange to pitch and he immediately picked-off Machado at first to end the threat.

The Stars went down harmlessly in the seventh to dip to under .500 in the second half.

They weren’t under .500 for long as game two was a nail biter, but it was Gindl who once again provided the clutch offense.

With runners on second and third and two outs in the third inning, Gindl doubled to deep center field. The two runs that scored on the play were enough for starter Andre Lamontagne (4-3) and reliever Jeremy Jeffress to hold the lead.

Lamontagne bounced back from his previous start with a strong outing, going 5.2 innings, giving up three hits, one run (earned), while walking two and striking out an impressive nine batters. The sixth inning chased him from the game as with two outs Chris Rahl singled and was driven in by a Bryan Byrne double. Enter Jeffress, who got Sean Coughlin to ground out to third to end the frame with the Stars still up 2-1.

He’d nail down his third save of the year with a 1-2-3 ninth inning to get the Stars to within three games of the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, who lost Sunday.

The Stars open a four game series at Montgomery Tuesday night. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. and all the action can be heard on the Stars Radio Network and www.huntsvillestars.com.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Stars edged by BayBears

By Aaron Morse

Collin Cowgill drove in all three Mobile runs including a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning as the BayBears (34-25, 70-57) came from behind to knock off the Huntsville Stars (30-30, 63-67) by a final score of 3-2 Thursday night.

Huntsville took the early lead in the first inning against Mobile starter Ryan Cook. With one out, Brett Lawrie drew a walk. He proceeded to swipe his 30th base of the year and Drew Anderson, the franchise’s all-time leader in career doubles, doubled him home.

The put Cook on the ropes again in the second as the Stars got runners on second and third with one out. A pop-out and a strike-out ended the threat though.

Anderson got things going in the third with his second double of the night. Zelous Wheeler followed with a RBI single and it was 2-0 Stars.

The bottom of the fourth was noteworthy due to a spectacular over the shoulder catch from Caleb Gindl in deep center field to rob Taylor Harbin of an extra base hit.

Mobile finally got to Huntsville starter Amaury Rivas in the fifth as Ryan Cook smacked a one-out single to left. Then with two away, Cowgill doubled to center and advanced to third on the throw to the plate as Cook scored. Rivas walked the next batter but struck-out Konrad Schmidt to end the inning.

That ended up being his last frame of work as the right-hander went five innings, giving up one run on four hits. He walked four, matching his season high in that category and struck-out six in the no-decision.

Mobile burned reliever Jim Henderson (4-5) in the seventh. With one out, Sean Coughlin singled to right. After Henderson struck-out Evan Frey, Cowgill struck again, this time with a two-run home run to give Mobile the 3-2 lead.

On the bright side for the Stars, reliever Jeremy Jeffress followed Henderson in to the game and struck-out all four batters he faced.

The Stars nearly rallied to tie the game in the ninth as Andy Machado got things going with a single to right. After Lee Haydel bunted him to second, Lawrie hit a hot smash to short. Harbin made a nice leaping grab and threw back to second to double off Machado and end the game.

Huntsville left nine men stranded in the contest and was 2-9 with men in scoring position. Anderson and catcher Anderson De La Rosa tallied multi-hit games.
With the loss, the Stars remain 4.5 back of the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx in the Wild Card race with 10 games to play. Huntsville looks to bounce back Friday night as they send Wily Peralta to the hill in game two of the four game set with Mobile. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. central time and all the action can be heard only on www.huntsvillestars.com.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Stars salvage series finale with Biscuits

By Aaron Morse

Chuckie Caufield doubled in Drew Anderson in the sixth to break a 3-3 tie and the Huntsville Stars (30-29, 63-66) won on get away day Wednesday afternoon by a final score of 5-3 over the Montgomery Biscuits.

The Stars jumped out to the early lead in the bottom of the first. With one away, Brett Lawrie drew a walk. He showed off his trademark aggressiveness with a stolen base, his 29th of the year. Zelous Wheeler singled to left to move Lawrie to third and put runners at the corners with one out. That’s when Drew Anderson nearly smacked a three-run homer as the ball went off the top of the right field wall. He settled for a two-RBI triple to give the Stars a 2-0 lead. Andy Machado hit a ball hard to center to score Anderson. Taylor Green struck-out to end the inning, a sign of things to come for the Stars.

In fact, between the first and sixth innings, Montgomery starter Alex Cobb (6-5) could not have been more dominating. He struck-out two in the second inning and sent the side down in order via the K in the third and fourth innings respectively.

Meanwhile, the Biscuits came back to tie the game. With one out in the third, Rashad Eldridge singled to left off Stars’ starter Mark Rogers. The hard throwing right-hander was able to get John Matulia to hit a tailor-made double play ball to second baseman Brett Lawrie. Lawrie’s feed to Wheeler was true, but Wheeler dropped the ball and everyone was safe. With two away, more bad luck hit Rogers as a shattered bat caused him to have to try field a slow roller while avoiding the sharp barrel. He successfully did the latter, but the ball squeaked past him for an infield single. At that point, Rogers walked in two runs and the Biscuits cut the score to 3-2 in favor of the Stars.

They got one more run in the fifth. With one out, Jose Ruiz singled to center. After a walk, Rogers struck-out Matt Spring for the second out of the inning. But Mike Folli delivered a clutch RBI single to center.

Rogers got a ground-out to end the inning and his night. The former first round pick went five innings, giving up three runs (one earned), on six hits. He walked four and struck-out eight.

Speaking of strike-outs Cobb sent down 13 Stars’ hitters via the K. However Huntsville got to him for the eventual winning run in the sixth. With one away, Drew Anderson doubled to left field. Cobb struck-out the next batter and then the Biscuits decided to intentionally walk Taylor Green to get to Caufield.

Big mistake. The Biscuit-killer laced a double to right center field to drive in Anderson and give the Stars a 4-3 lead.
The Stars tacked on an insurance run in the eighth thanks to a RBI double off the bat of Taylor Green.

Chris Cody (7-7) tossed two scoreless innings out of the bullpen to get the win. Michael Fiers finished things off for his first save of the year with two scoreless frames of his own.

Despite the win, the Stars remain 4.5 games back of the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx in the wild card race with 11 games to play. They head to Mobile to open a four game series Thursday. Amaury Rivas (11-6) will be on the mound. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. central time and all the action can be heard on the Stars Radio Network.

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.

Stars fall short in comeback attempt

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (29-28, 62-65) scored the last five runs of the game but it wasn’t enough as they fell by a final score of 6-5 to the Montgomery Biscuits (26-31, 64-61) Monday night.

Things did not start well as the Biscuits scored five unearned runs in the first against Stars’ starter Andre Lamontagne (3-3). Emeel Salem started things off with a single to center. Lamontagne walked the next batter before striking out Jose Ruiz. Huntsville’s defense has been poor all year and a Zelous Wheeler error on what should have been a double play ball, loaded the bases with one out. John Matulia smacked a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 Biscuits. After Lamontagne walked his second batter of the inning, Matt Spring delivered the big blow with a grand slam to make it 5-0 in Montgomery’s favor.

Walks continued to hurt Lamontagne as he issued a free pass to the lead-off man in the second. A passed ball moved the runner to second and a grounder to the right side moved him to third. Rashad Eldridge hit a sacrifice fly to extend the Biscuits’ lead to 6-0.

The next two innings saw the Stars fight back as Drew Anderson crushed a two-run bomb in the third to cut the Biscuit’s advantage to 6-2. A big fourth inning led to the Stars drawing to within one. With one out, Andy Machado doubled to right. Anderson De La Rosa singled him home. After Lee Haydel reached on a force attempt that turned into a Biscuits’ error, Brett Lawrie singled home De La Rosa to make the score 6-4. Back-to-back walks ended up pushing across the Stars’ fifth and final run of the contest.

The Stars only managed three base-runners the rest of the way as the Biscuits won the series opener.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Stars stymied by Barons

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (29-27, 62-64) managed only three hits on their way to a 5-1 defeat Sunday night against the Birmingham Barons (23-33, 47-79).

Stars’ starter Wily Peralta was cruising along until the fourth where it all came undone. He walked the lead-off man and Christian Marrero followed with a single to right. A ground-out moved both runners up 90 feet and Salvador Sanchez singled home the first run of the game. After a hit by pitch loaded the bases, Dale Mollenhauer delivered the dagger with a triple to deep center field. A Tyler Kuhn sacrifice fly drove him home and all of a sudden it was 5-0 Barons.

Peralta (1-2) ended up going four innings, giving up the five runs on five hits. He walked three and struck-out three as well.

The Stars managed their lone run in the seventh inning, but they should have gotten more. Brett Lawrie led-off with a walk. Zelous Wheeler followed with a single to left. After Drew Anderson walked, the Barons took starter Johnnie Lowe out of the game. New pitcher Deunte Heath got Chris Nowak to strike-out. Taylor Green managed to get his team-leading 79th RBI with a ground-out. But the Stars got nothing else as Andy Machado popped out to end the inning.

Back-to-back walks started the eighth inning and Lee Haydel singled to load the bases with nobody out. But Lawrie struck-out and Wheeler popped out to leave it up to Drew Anderson. Anderson struck-out as well and the Barons were out of the jam.

The Stars went down harmlessly in the ninth as all three batters struck-out. With the defeat, Huntsville falls to 3.5 games out of the Wild Card race behind the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx with 14 games to play.

Huntsville returns home Monday night to open a three game set against the Montgomery Biscuits. First pitch is at 7 p.m. If you can’t make it to “The Joe” you can tune in on www.huntsvillestars.com.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Stars prevail in low-scoring battle with Barons

By Aaron Morse

Drew Anderson, the franchise’s all-time leader in doubles, doubled home the eventual winning run in the top of the eighth inning as the Huntsville Stars (29-26, 62-3) edged the Birmingham Barons (22-33, 46-79) by a final score of 2-1 Saturday night.

Stars’ starter Chris Cody struck-out the first four batters he faced. Meanwhile the offense gave him some support in the top of the third. With one down, Anderson De La Rosa singled off opposing pitcher Charles Leesman. Lee Haydel was hit by a pitch and with two away Zelous Wheeler came up big with a single to right that scored De La Rosa to put Huntsville up 1-0.

The Barons knotted things at one thanks to a Cole Armstrong solo homer in the fifth.

The seventh inning was key for the Stars as Birmingham loaded the bases with only one away against Cody. Mike Guerrero called upon Eddie Morlan, who got a line-out and a fly-out to get out of the jam. Cody ended up going 6.1 innings, giving up only three hits and one run on the home run; he walked one and struck-out eight in the no-decision.

Huntsville rewarded Morlan for getting out of the jam in the seventh with the go-ahead run in the eighth. With one out, Wheeler tripled to right. That’s when Anderson doubled him home to give the Stars the 2-1 lead.

Morlan (3-2) tossed another scoreless frame and Robert Hinton pitched the ninth to earn his fourth save of the year.

Despite the win, the Stars actually lost ½ a game on the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx who swept their double header Friday. So Huntsville is now three games back in the Wild Card race.

They will attempt to win the finale Sunday night. Wily Peralta is the scheduled starter. First pitch is at 5:05 p.m. central time on the Stars Radio Network.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Barons steal one from Stars

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (28-26, 61-63) smacked a season-high nine doubles but it wasn’t enough as the Birmingham Barons (22-32, 46-78) came back from eight runs down to beat the Stars 11-10 Friday night.

The two teams combined for 13 doubles, the most ever in one game in Southern League history.

With the loss the Stars stay 2.5 games back of the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx for the Wild Card play-off bid. They also remain six games back of the Tennessee Smokies in the north division.

They gave plenty of run support to Amaury Rivas who did not have his A-game. The right-hander gave up five runs (all earned) over his five innings of work. He surrendered nine hits, walked two and struck-out three.

The Stars had no problem hitting Barons starter Kyle McCullough. They scored four runs in the first inning. Lee Haydel got things going with a single to right. After Brett Lawrie smacked his team-leading 35th double of the year, Zelous Wheeler drew a walk. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Drew Anderson singled sharply to right field, scoring Haydel and moving everyone else up 90 feet. A Chris Nowak RBI grounder made the score 2-0. Then with two down, Andy Machado continued his recent hot hitting with a two-RBI double to extend the lead to 4-0.

They seemingly put the game out of reach when they scored four more runs in the top of the third. With two outs and nobody on, the Stars unleashed an incredible five consecutive doubles to take an 8-0 lead.

Birmingham got two runs back in the bottom of the frame on a two-RBI single from Josh Phegley, but the Stars still had a comfortable 8-2 advantage.

A Caleb Gindl RBI double in the fifth made the score 9-2. However, the Barons managed to plate three against Rivas in the bottom of the frame.

A four run lead became a five run lead in the seventh when Gindl hit his third double of the night to drive in Taylor Green.

All seemed well until the bottom of the eighth when the Stars managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Reliever Jim Henderson issued back-to-back walks to start the inning. Tyler Kuhn followed with a RBI double to make the score 10-6 and put runners on second and third with nobody out. A RBI grounder from Eduardo Escobar was the end of Henderson’s outing as Jeremy Jeffress (1-1) came on in relief. He was greeted with an infield single, putting runners at the corners. Jeffress was his own worst enemy as he threw the ball away on a pick-off attempt to first, allowing another Barons’ run to score. He then had control problems, walking Christian Marrero and hitting Phegley with a pitch to load the bases. The Stars’ defense let Jeffress down at that point as a chopper to first base off the bat of Cole Armstrong resulted in a throwing error by Chris Nowak as he attempted to get the runner at the plate. Two runs scored and the game was tied at ten. C.J. Retherford provided the eventual game winning hit as he singled to left to drive in Phegley and give the Barons the 11-10 lead.

Anthony Carter worked another 1-2-3 ninth to get his second save in as many days and his 21st of the season. Kyle Bellamy (1-2) picked up the win in relief for the Barons.

The Stars will look to even the series Saturday evening as they send Andre Lamontagne to the hill. You can hear all the action beginning at 6:15 p.m. central time on the Stars Radio Network.

Barons steal one from Stars

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (28-26, 61-63) smacked a season-high nine doubles but it wasn’t enough as the Birmingham Barons (22-32, 46-78) came back from eight runs down to beat the Stars 11-10 Friday night.

The two teams combined for 13 doubles, the most ever in one game in Southern League history.

With the loss the Stars stay 2.5 games back of the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx for the Wild Card play-off bid. They also remain six games back of the Tennessee Smokies in the north division.

They gave plenty of run support to Amaury Rivas who did not have his A-game. The right-hander gave up five runs (all earned) over his five innings of work. He surrendered nine hits, walked two and struck-out three.

The Stars had no problem hitting Barons starter Kyle McCullough. They scored four runs in the first inning. Lee Haydel got things going with a single to right. After Brett Lawrie smacked his team-leading 35th double of the year, Zelous Wheeler drew a walk. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Drew Anderson singled sharply to right field, scoring Haydel and moving everyone else up 90 feet. A Chris Nowak RBI grounder made the score 2-0. Then with two down, Andy Machado continued his recent hot hitting with a two-RBI double to extend the lead to 4-0.

They seemingly put the game out of reach when they scored four more runs in the top of the third. With two outs and nobody on, the Stars unleashed an incredible five consecutive doubles to take an 8-0 lead.

Birmingham got two runs back in the bottom of the frame on a two-RBI single from Josh Phegley, but the Stars still had a comfortable 8-2 advantage.

A Caleb Gindl RBI double in the fifth made the score 9-2. However, the Barons managed to plate three against Rivas in the bottom of the frame.

A four run lead became a five run lead in the seventh when Gindl hit his third double of the night to drive in Taylor Green.

All seemed well until the bottom of the eighth when the Stars managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Reliever Jim Henderson issued back-to-back walks to start the inning. Tyler Kuhn followed with a RBI double to make the score 10-6 and put runners on second and third with nobody out. A RBI grounder from Eduardo Escobar was the end of Henderson’s outing as Jeremy Jeffress (1-1) came on in relief. He was greeted with an infield single, putting runners at the corners. Jeffress was his own worst enemy as he threw the ball away on a pick-off attempt to first, allowing another Barons’ run to score. He then had control problems, walking Christian Marrero and hitting Phegley with a pitch to load the bases. The Stars’ defense let Jeffress down at that point as a chopper to first base off the bat of Cole Armstrong resulted in a throwing error by Chris Nowak as he attempted to get the runner at the plate. Two runs scored and the game was tied at ten. C.J. Retherford provided the eventual game winning hit as he singled to left to drive in Phegley and give the Barons the 11-10 lead.

Anthony Carter worked another 1-2-3 ninth to get his second save in as many days and his 21st of the season. Kyle Bellamy (1-2) picked up the win in relief for the Barons.

The Stars will look to even the series Saturday evening as they send Andre Lamontagne to the hill. You can hear all the action beginning at 6:15 p.m. central time on the Stars Radio Network.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Stars take early lead, fall to Barons late

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (28-25, 61-62) took a 3-0 edge in the second, but the Birmingham Barons (21-32, 45-78) came back to win 4-3 as Christian Marrero hit the go-ahead single in the eighth inning Thursday night.

With one away in the second, Chris Nowak singled on a line drive that deflected off of Barons’ starter Matt Long in to center field. Long was okay, but immediately gave up a two-run shot to Taylor Green. It was Green’s team-leading 12th homer of the year. Huntsville kept the pressure on when Andy Machado tripled down the right field line. After Caleb Gindl walked, Dayton Buller hit a fly ball to left field that Jim Gallagher caught for the second out of the inning. Machado was able to score on the play, but Gindl got thrown out at second base by catcher Cole Armstrong as he tried to advance to end the inning.

The Barons got one back in the bottom of the frame against Stars’ starter Mark Rogers. With one down, Armstrong singled to center. Salvador Sanchez followed with a double to left-center to cut the score to 3-1.

Rogers worked around trouble in the third and fourth but was not as fortunate in the fifth. John Shelby III got things going with a single to left. A wild pitched moved him to second. That’s when Eduardo Escobar laid down a bunt that Rogers fielded; his throw sailed down the right field line and Shelby III came around to score. It was ruled a bunt single for Escobar and he went to second on the error. Rogers proceeded to issue his first and only walk of the night when he gave Gallagher a free pass. Christian Marrero foreshadowed his game-winning hit by tying the game with a single to right.

Rogers was able to get out of the inning without any further damage. He’d get a no-decision, going five innings, scattering nine hits, giving up three runs (all earned), walking one and striking out five.

The Stars loaded the bases with only one out in the sixth, but Buller hit into a 6-3 double play to end the threat. The Stars were 0-5 with runners in scoring position on the night and left seven men stranded.

Birmingham took the lead against Robert Hinton (4-3) in the eighth. With one away, Shelby III drew a walk. Escobar followed with a single up the middle. Hinton got two strikes on Gallagher but hit him with the pitch. Marrero stepped to the plate and delivered his second clutch hit of the night with a single to right, scoring Shelby III and giving the Barons a 4-3 lead.

Anthony Carter had no problem nailing down his 20th save of the year in the ninth. Gregory Infante (2-2) picked up the win in relief for Birmingham.

West Tenn also lost Thursday night so the Stars remain 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race. The Smokies won so Huntsville falls to six back in the division.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Stars Close To Wild Card

Connor Shreve

The Huntsville Stars set season highs Wednesday night at Regions Field in beating up on the Birmingham Barons 17-4.

Taylor Green extended his team RBI lead, now at 75, with six runs knocked in as part of a perfect 5-5 night from the plate. Green helped spur the team to the seasons best run output (17) and hit total (22).

Birmingham attempted to take advantage of two Stars miscues in the second which built a 2-1 home club lead. But the Barons luck was not enough for a bullpen that has been shaky all season long. The Stars brought ten batters to the plate in a six run fifth inning that only proved to be the beginning of the Stars scoring frenzy.

Greens 11th home run added three runs to the sixth inning total of five. The rest of the offense would not be outdone, continuing to gush through the nozzle that is the Barons pen until the final out mercifully ended a contest that neared the three and one half hour mark. Not one offensive player left the field without at least one hit.

Overshadowed perhaps was the work of Huntsville hurler Mike Bowman, who rebounded from a rough performance last time out to pick up his ninth win of the year. Bowman gave up only the two unearned runs on seven hits. He picked up three punch outs and gave out two free passes to first base.

Huntsville also received some help from the division and wild card leaders and now sit 2.5 games back of the wild card heading in to Thursday's game two. The Stars rotation is set up well; Mark Rogers and Amaury Rivas are set to throw at some point in the next three days.

Thursdays game begins at 7:05 (CDT) on the Stars Radio Network and www.huntsvillestars.com

Monday, August 16, 2010

Stars pull off dramatic comeback win

By Aaron Morse

Brett Lawrie hit a two-out, two-RBI double and the Huntsville Stars (27-24, 60-61) scored seven runs in the sixth inning to rally from a five run deficit on their way to a 9-7 victory over the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx (24-27, 63-57) Monday afternoon.

The victory made a winner out of Wily Peralta (1-1) who went six innings, giving up six runs (three earned) on seven hits. He walked one and struck-out seven.

The 21-year old right-hander had to work around some shaky Stars defense in the first inning. With one out, Johan Limonta doubled sharply down the right field line. Peralta got Alex Liddi to ground right back to the mound; he had Limonta caught dead to rights between second and third but his throw to second was dropped by shortstop Andy Machado. That allowed Limonta to go to third and everybody was safe.

Then he was hit with some bad luck as a Carlos Peguero chopper up the middle was hit so slowly that no play was available for Machado to make. The infield single drove in Limonta and West Tenn grabbed the early 1-0 lead. Scott Savastano followed with a grounder that Machado booted, loading the bases with only one down. The Stars paid for their bad defense as Joe Dunigan singled in two runs to extend the West Tenn lead to 3-0.

West Tennessee tacked on an insurance run in the top of the second on a two-out RBI single from Liddi.

However the Stars were able to get that run back in the bottom half of the frame when Taylor Green doubled in Drew Anderson, who’d drawn a lead-off walk.

Peralta and his counterpart Jarrett Grube were lights out for the next three innings before the Diamond Jaxx struck again in the sixth. With one out Joe Dunigan reached on an infield single. Bonilla followed with his second homer of the afternoon to extend the advantage to 6-1.

It was not Peralta’s best outing but the Stars made him a winner thanks to their epic comeback in the bottom of the sixth. Lee Haydel provided the spark Huntsville needed with a perfect bunt single down the third base line. Brett Lawrie followed with a double to the left field corner. That’s when the Z-man, Zelous Wheeler singled home both runners to cut the deficit to 6-3. A Drew Anderson double put runners at second and third with still nobody out. It also chased Grube from the game as the Diamond Jaxx brought in Wes Littleton. He was greeted by a Chris Nowak chopper to short that Carlos Triunfel mishandled, allowing everyone to be safe as the Stars cut the lead to 6-4. Littleton walked Taylor Green to load the bases. His control continued to escape him as he walked Andy Machado and Caleb Gindl as well and all of a sudden the game was tied at six. Nick Hill entered the game and struck-out two batters before Lawrie hacked at the first pitch and doubled in two runs to give the Stars an 8-6 lead.

Robert Hinton tossed a scoreless seventh, but Michael Fiers gave up a homer to Bonilla in the eighth to cut the Stars’ lead to one. Huntsville responded immediately in the bottom half of the frame when Lee Haydel hit a sacrifice fly to score Gindl from third.

The 9-7 lead held up as Jeremy Jeffress nailed down his second save of the year with a scoreless ninth inning.

The win moves Huntsville to within 3.5 games of the Wild Card lead. They have an off day Tuesday before taking on the Birmingham Barons on Wednesday. Michael Bowman will be on the mound and you can catch all the action on the Stars Radio Network.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Stars miss multiple opportunities in game two loss

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (26-24, 59-61) gave up four runs with two outs, Alex Liddi hit a home run over the scoreboard, and the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx (24-26, 63-56) prevailed 6-2 in game two of Sunday’s double header.

The two-out trouble started in the very first inning. With two away, Huntsville starter Andre Lamontagne (3-2) gave up a line drive single to Liddi up the middle. A wild pitch moved him to second and Lamontagne walked Johan Limonta. He got a little unlucky when Scott Savastano’s weak chopper bounced over the mound for an infield single to load the bases. That’s when Carlos Peguero provided the two-out lightning with a two-RBI double to left.

Huntsville got two on with only one away in the bottom half of the frame, but West Tenn starter Cesar Jimenez worked out of the jam.

That’d be the theme of game two as the Stars got a one-out walk in the second and were unable to score as well.

Meanwhile, Liddi cranked a mammoth homer over the left-center field scoreboard to extend the West Tenn lead to 3-0 in the third.

Jimenez hit Caleb Gindl with a pitch in the bottom of the frame, and this being his first start after rehabbing in Arizona, that signaled the end of the southpaw’s day. Robert Rohrbaugh (4-2) came on in relief and was greeted by a sharp Lawrie liner to left. Unfortunately the hard hit ball was right at Peguero for out number one. Then, with Zelous Wheeler at the plate, Gindl inexplicably tried to steal second in a three-run game and was promptly picked off by the lefty Rohrbaugh. Wheeler proceeded to strike out and that was that.

The fourth inning proved to be more two-out trouble for the Stars. Brandon Bantz led-off with a double to deep left. One out later Joe Dunigan drew a walk. Stars’ manager Mike Guerrero opted to bring in Nick Green at that point. Green blew three heaters past Nate Tenbrink for the second out of the frame. But Liddi struck again, this time with a double down the right field line. On the play Bantz scored, but the Diamond Jaxx tried to hold Dunigan at third. A base-running mistake by Liddi, who was not looking at the fact Dunigan had been held up at third, forced Dunigan to head home. The Stars had him dead for rights, but Lawrie’s throw sailed over everyone’s head, scoring another run and giving West Tenn a 5-0 advantage.

Huntsville finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Drew Anderson singled to left to get things started. One out later, Taylor Green hit into a force out and two were away. Luckily Andy Machado came up big with a double, driving in Green and cutting the score to 5-1.

The Stars left a man in scoring position in the fifth and loaded the bases in the sixth. Singles by Green, Machado, and Caufield put runners on every base with two away. Unfortunately, manager Mike Guerrero opted not to pinch hit with Lee Haydel. Instead he allowed the sub-.100 hitting Arlis to bat for himself. He grounded out to third and the threat was neutralized.

Johan Limonta tacked on another run in the top half of the seventh with a homer that snuck over the right field fence by mere inches.

Caleb Gindl started the seventh with an infield single. One out later Wheeler worked a great AB and doubled home Gindl to the cut the score to 6-2. But that’d be it for Huntsville as they dropped game two of the twin bill.

Huntsville left nine men on base and they only managed a 3-11 clip with runners in scoring position. They out-hit West Tenn 9-8 to no avail. Wheeler and Machado both tallied multi-hit games.

With the loss the Stars are 4.5 games back of the Diamond Jaxx in the Wild Card Race. They play the finale of the five game set Monday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. central time. Tune in to www.huntsvillestars.com beginning at 12:45 for the Window World Pre-Game Report.

Stars shine Sunday morning

By Aaron Morse

Chris Nowak drove in three runs, Amaury Rivas (11-6) pitched well, and eight Huntsville Stars (26-23, 59-60) collected hits on their way to 13 of them in a 10-1 romp over the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx (23-26, 62-56) Sunday morning.

The Stars took advantage of some shaky West Tenn defense in the first inning. Lee Haydel drew a lead-off base-on-balls against Steven Hensley (7-11). They played some small ball as Brett Lawrie bunted Haydel to second base. That’s when Zelous Wheeler singled to left. Initially manager Mike Guerrero opted to hold Haydel at third. But Joe Dunigan’s throw to the plate sailed over everyone’s head, allowing Haydel to cross the plate for a 1-0 Stars lead.

They tacked on two more in the fourth. Once again it was a lead-off walk that started things as Drew Anderson reached on the free pass. Chris Nowak made Hensley pay as he drilled a two-run home run to deep left.

Rivas was dominant through four, surrendering only a lone Alex Liddi single in the second. However the fifth inning was a rocky one. Nate Tenbrink led-off with a walk, the first of the game issued by Rivas. Guillermo Quiroz followed with a chopper up the middle. Zelous Wheeler ranged to his left and looked like he’d be able to turn the double play. But the ball snuck under his glove for a single and Tenbrink went to third on the play. Rivas got Carlos Peguero to hit into a 6-3 double play as Wheeler made a nice play behind the bag at second. The twin killing did push across the first one of the game for West Tenn as they cut the Stars’ lead to 3-1.

Rivas had to work hard to get out of the frame without any more damage as he walked Dunigan and surrendered a single to Carlos Triunfel. He struck-out pinch hitter Leury Bonilla to get out of the jam.

It’d be his final frame of work as he finished with a line of five innings pitched, three hits, one run, two walks, and seven strike-outs.

Huntsville got all the insurance they needed and more in their half of the fifth. Haydel doubled to deep right center on a ball that Peguero badly misjudged. Lawrie followed with a ringing double off the top of the wall in left-center to drive in Haydel and extend the lead to 4-1.

The Stars’ got lucky when Wheeler hit a chopper to third that Alex Liddi gloved. Brett Lawrie had started towards third and appeared to be caught dead to rights. But he managed to avoid Liddi’s tag and dive head-first in to third safely. Everyone was safe, setting up a Drew Anderson RBI single that made the score 5-1.

That was all for Hensley as the Diamond Jaxx brought on Nick Hill to put out the fire. He was unable to as he immediately gave up a single to Chris Nowak. That plated Wheeler to give the Stars a 6-1 edge. Hill got a little wild as he hit Taylor Green and walked in a run when Andy Machado drew a base-on-balls. A Chuckie Caufield RBI grounder completed the scoring as the Stars put across five runs in the frame to take an 8-1 lead.

Huntsville greeted new pitcher Aaron Jensen rather rudely in the bottom of the sixth. Lawrie smacked another double to lead things off. One out later Anderson singled him home. Then with two away Green singled in the hole to right field. Machado continued his hot hitting with a RBI double down the right field line to complete the scoring as the Stars grabbed a commanding 10-1 advantage.

Meanwhile Eddie Morlan was untouchable out of the bullpen, striking out all six batters he faced.

The Diamond Jaxx managed only three hits in the game, while the Stars had a multitude of players have big days. Four of the first five hitters in the order had multi-hit games. Haydel and Lawrie were 2-3 with two runs scored each. Anderson went 3-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. Nowak had a solid day as well, going 2-4 with two runs scored, the homer, and three RBI. Andy Machado only had one hit but drove in two runs in the contest.

Stars salvage split of twin bill as Anderson rewrites the record books

By Aaron Morse

Drew Anderson set the Stars’ all time record for career doubles and his hit turned out to be the difference as the Huntsville Stars (25-23, 58-60) snuck by the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (23-25, 62-55) by a final score of 4-3 in game two of Saturday’s double header.

West Tenn took the early lead for the second game in a row on a Carlos Peguero RBI double in the second inning. This time though the Stars struck back in a big way. In the bottom of the frame, Chris Nowak, Taylor Green, and Andy Machado smacked back-to-back-to-back singles with one away. Up stepped Lee Haydel, who hit a chopper to second base. The Diamond Jaxx got the force at second, but Carlos Triunfel’s throw to first was low and got away. Two runs crossed the plate to give Huntsville the 2-1 edge. Dayton Buller followed with a clutch RBI single to extend the lead to 3-1.

The Diamond Jaxx chipped away against Stars’ starter Chris Cody. Matt Lawson led-off the third with a single to right. Nate Tenbrink followed with a single of his own and Lawson went corner to corner. One out later, Johan Limonta legged out a grounder as the Stars’ got the lead runner at second but no more. Lawson scored on the play to cut the lead to 3-2.

In the bottom of the frame, Zelous Wheeler doubled to center with one down. That’s when Drew Anderson hit his record-setting 72nd career double as a Huntsville Star, driving in Wheeler to provide some much needed insurance.

Back-to-back doubles off the bats of Leury Bonilla and Brandon Bantz in the fourth cut the Stars’ lead to a slim one run.

The Diamond Jaxx chased Cody from the game in the fifth thanks to two singles. But Robert Hinton (4-2) bailed the Stars out when he forced Scott Savastano to hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

Cody’s final line was 4.1 IP, 9 hits, three runs, all earned, no walks and six strike-outs.

Hinton tossed a scoreless sixth and Jeremy Jeffress nailed down his first save of the year with a perfect seventh.

With the victory, the Stars salvaged a split in the twin bill and remain 4.5 games back of the Diamond Jaxx in the Wild Card race heading into Sunday’s double header. All the action can be heard on www.huntsvillestars.com beginning at 10:45 a.m. central time with the Window World Pre-Game Report.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Stars drop game one of Saturday’s double dip

By Aaron Morse

Anthony Vazquez (1-2) dominated on the mound as the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (23-24, 62-54) knocked off the Huntsville Stars (24-23, 57-60) by a final score of 4-1 in game one of Saturday’s double header.

Vazquez went 6.2 innings, giving up only four hits and a lone run while striking out six. A big key for Vazquez was that he did not walk anyone.

Meanwhile after a routine first inning, Michael Bowman (8-10) surrendered an unearned run the very next frame.

With one away in the second, Nate Tenbrink doubled to center. Then Guillermo Quiroz gave the ball a ride to deep right that Chuckie Caufield dropped for an error. Tenbrink scored on the play to give West Tenn the 1-0 lead.

Bowman settled down and tossed two straight scoreless innings. The long ball got to him in the fifth though. Joe Dunigan led-off with a single up the middle. The ever-dangerous Carlos Triunfel followed with a bomb to left and West Tenn extended their lead to 3-0.

A Brandon Haveman single followed by a deep fly-out from Matthew Lawson signaled the end of the day for Bowman. The right-hander went four and a third, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits. He walked one and struck-out six.

Lucas Luetge entered and got the Stars out of the inning. He would give up a solo shot to Carlos Peguero in the sixth though as West Tenn took a 4-0 advantage.

The Stars finally got to Vazquez in the last half inning, the bottom of the seventh. Zelous Wheeler started things with a single to left. Two outs later Andy Machado doubled home Wheeler a ball that Joe Dunigan misplayed to cut the deficit to 4-1. But that’d be it for the Stars as Wes Littleton entered and got pinch hitter Taylor Green to pop out to third to end the game for his third save of the season.

Machado tallied the only multi-hit game for the Stars as he went 2-3 with a RBI. Michael Fiers made his first appearance since coming off the DL and tossed an inning of scoreless ball. Haveman and Tenbrink each smacked two base hits for the Diamond Jaxx.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Stars Playoff Push Must Start With Diamond Jaxx

Connor Shreve

A midseason turnaround has the Huntsville Stars baseball team in the thick of the 2010 Southern League playoff race. The 2010 campaign started well enough but Huntsville could not keep pace with it’s solid April record, finishing the first half in fourth place at 33-37. Huntsville started the second half well also with a league best 15-11 July record but has avoided the drop off in performance that doomed the first half chase.

Before the Stars current five game losing streak began, the squad had not shown any signs of stumbling to the finish line. Huntsville now hopes that a sweep, the season’s first, on the road at the hands of the first placed Tennessee Smokies will be nothing more than a fluke with the most important five games of the season beginning Thursday in Huntsville.

The Stars skid coming against the Cubs affiliate has almost certainly guaranteed that a playoff berth will have to come via the wild card competition. The wild card comes in to play if the divisions first half winner also takes the second half, which the Smokies with a six game lead in the Northern Division, seem poised to do. Barring a major Tennessee meltdown, the North’s other playoff team will be determined by the wild card race, meaning overall record. Heading in to Thursday night play, the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx hold a 4.5 game lead over the Stars for overall record.

The Diamond Jaxx, for whatever reason, has been one of the Stars least favorite opponents this season. West Tennessee struggled early against Huntsville but seems to have gained the advantage, winning 9 of the last 11 games between the two teams en route to a nine games to five season advantage. The Stars are also hoping for a home turnaround having been at the losing end of seven of the nine games with West Tennessee at Joe Davis Stadium.

The struggle at home for Huntsville is a season long trend not strictly limited to play against The Diamond Jaxx. It is a trend, though, that may be in the rear view mirror. The Milwaukee Brewers AA squad only won 15 first half games at home but has taken eight of its last ten helping the team to a 14-9 second half home record. However the Stars last impressive home stretch, which included dominating series wins over Mississippi and Carolina, came immediately after West Tennessee pocketed four of five games in Huntsville while outscoring the Stars 35-21.

With only 24 games left, The Stars sit in a promising yet precarious position. A good set at “The Joe” will simply lead to an incredible race the rest of the way but a poor series, could force Huntsville to set its sights on 2011.

Stars swept for the first time in 2010

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (24-22, 57-59) got an outstanding outing from Wily Peralta but it wasn’t enough as they fell by a final score of 2-0 to the Tennessee Smokies (30-16, 72-43) Wednesday night.

The loss was the Stars’ fifth in a row as they were swept by the Smokies in the five game set up in Kodak.

Tennessee managed only two unearned runs off Peralta but it was enough as Huntsville’s offense and defense continued to stagger.

In the second inning, noted Stars’ killer Blake Lalli led-off with a double. A throwing error by Taylor Green on a grounder off the bat of Robinson Chirinos allowed Lalli to score.

Huntsville had a multitude of chances all night against Rafael Dolis and the Smokies’ pitching staff. But the Stars left eight men on base and were 0-7 with runners in scoring position.

Peralta issued a lead-off walk and was the victim of more bad defense in the seventh. A grounder off the bat of Matt Spencer was thrown away by Brett Lawrie, allowing everyone to be safe. Two outs later, Marwin Gonzalez came up big with a single up the middle to drive in Spencer and extend the lead to 2-0.

Peralta’s final line was outstanding as he went seven innings, giving up four hits, two runs, both unearned, walking two and striking-out three.

The Stars actually out-hit Tennessee 6-4, but never got a run across. Dolis, Marco Carillo, and Blake Parker combined for the shutout, with Dolis picking the win and Parker the save.

Only one Star managed a multi-hit game as Caleb Gindl went 2-3. The Smokies got a multi-hit game from Lalli who was also 2-3.

With the loss the Stars drop to six games back of Tennessee in the north division. They are currently 4.5 back of West Tenn for the second best overall record, which would make the play-offs if Tennessee wins the second half title.

Huntsville opens up a huge five game set with West Tenn Thursday night at Joe Davis Stadium. Michael Bowman (8-9, 5.84 ERA) will be on the mound for the opener.

Huntsville’s offense non-existent in loss to Smokies

By Aaron Morse

Smokies’ starter Chris Archer held the Huntsville Stars to a lone hit in his seven innings of dominating work as Tennessee won easily again by a score of 7-1 Tuesday night.

The Smokies got off to their trademark fast start as they scored two in the first against Stars’ starter Andre Lamontagne. With one away, Brett Jackson reached on catcher’s interference. He stole second and Russ Canzler doubled him home. With two outs, Robinson Chirinos doubled in Canzler for the second run of the frame.

Chris Nowak got the lone Stars’ hit against Archer with a solo homer in the second to cut the Smokies’ lead to 2-1.

Tennessee would add an insurance run in the fourth on a two-out RBI single from Brandon Guyer.

Lamontagne (3-1) pitched well, going five innings, scattering six hits, giving up three runs (two earned), while walking one and striking-out six.

The only problem was that Archer (7-1) was better. He went seven innings, giving up only the Nowak homer, walking one and striking-out eight.

The game was still in reach until Nick Green really struggled in relief. He gave up two runs in the sixth and seventh innings respectively.

A two-out, two RBI single off the bat of Brandon Guyer burned Green in the sixth inning. The very next inning saw Brett Jackson and Russ Canzler smack back-to-back triples to start the frame. A Blake Lalli RBI single completed the scoring.

It was another big offensive day for the Smokies as every position player in the starting lineup tallied a hit. They out-hit the Stars in the contest 12-4. No one on Huntsville tallied a multi-hit game.

Smokies run away late to beat Stars

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars kept things close for awhile but the Tennessee Smokies scored nine runs in the bottom of the eighth to take control and win 16-6 Monday night.

Tennessee flexed their muscles in the second inning when Steve Clevenger homered off Stars’ starter Amaury Rivas. But Huntsville took a brief 2-1 lead in the fourth. Brett Lawrie and Zelous Wheeler started the rally with back-to-back singles. After Drew Anderson was hit by a pitch, Chris Nowak grounded in to a fielder’s choice, scoring Lawrie and tying the game. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Taylor Green gave Huntsville the lead.

It didn’t last long as a Brandon Guyer sacrifice fly tied the game in the bottom of the fourth.

Tennessee seemed to take control of the game in the bottom of the fifth. The pitcher Craig Muschko led-off with a double to center. A Tony Campana single put runners at the corners. Brett Jackson smacked a sacrifice fly to give Tennessee a 3-2 lead. That’s when Russ Canzler blasted his 17th homer of the year to extend the advantage to 5-2. Matt Spencer doubled and Steve Clevenger walked to chase Rivas from the game. New pitcher Chris Cody allowed one of his two inherited runners to score when Guyer singled up the middle to drive in Spencer. When the dust settled the score was 6-2 in favor of Tennessee.

It was not Rivas’ best outing as he went four and a third innings, giving up six runs, all earned, on nine hits. He walked two and struck-out three.

Cody was his own worst enemy in the sixth as with two away he walked two straight hitters. Spencer made him pay with a RBI single to give Tennessee a 7-2 lead.

But Brett Lawrie gave the Stars some hope in the seventh as he blasted a three-run homer to cut the deficit to two.

Unfortunately all that hope disappeared in one disastrous eighth inning. New pitcher Jim Henderson had gotten a double play ball to end the seventh, but the eighth was his undoing. Tony Campana singled to lead-off and went to second on a wild pitch. One out later Russ Canzler and Luke Sommer delivered back-to-back doubles. After an intentional walk, two more doubles and a single followed. An error by Zelous Wheeler didn’t help matters and Campana got his second hit of the inning with a RBI double. Brett Jackson singled home a run and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Canzler scored Campana. Now with two away, another Stars’ error, this time by Chris Nowak, kept the inning going and forced Mike Guerrero to bring in Chuckie Caufield to pitch. The position player got them out of it when he got Steve Clevenger to pop out. But the disastrous frame saw nine runs score, seven earned, on eight hits.

Caufield homered in the ninth, but it was too little too late. Lawrie had a good day at the plate in the loss, going 3-4 with the three-run homer. Every Smokies’ player scored a run and every player got a hit with the exception of Blake Lalli.

Smokies crush Stars

By Aaron Morse

The Tennessee Smokies took advantage of a wild Mark Rogers in the first inning on their way to a 13-3 victory over the Huntsville Stars Sunday afternoon.

Early on it looked like Huntsville was going to have a good day. In the top of the first, Caleb Gindl and Brett Lawrie started things with back-to-back singles. One out later Chris Nowak singled home Gindl and Lawrie went corner to corner. A Taylor Green sacrifice fly made the score 2-0 Stars.

But the lead didn’t last long.

After retiring the first batter he faced, Rogers walked the next four hitters in a row in the bottom half of the frame. A passed ball scored the second run of the inning and Brandon Guyer smacked a three-run homer to give Tennessee the 5-2 lead.

With two outs and nobody on in the second, Brett Jackson smacked a solo home run to extend the lead to four. The second inning was Rogers’ last as he went two innings, giving up six runs (all earned) on two hits, both homers. He walked four and struck-out one. The two homers he gave up were more than he’d given up all season entering the game. In fact, all three home runs he’s surrendered in 2010 have come against Tennessee.

A Nate Sampson sacrifice fly in the third against reliever Eddie Morlan gave Tennessee a 7-2 lead.

The score stayed that way until the eighth inning when Andy Machado delivered a pinch-hit RBI double to cut the deficit to four.

Unfortunately Tennessee put the game away in the bottom half of the frame as they exploded for six runs off Stars’ reliever Robert Hinton. Only two of the runs were earned, but the damage was done.

Gindl, Lawrie, and Nowak tallied multi-hit games for the Stars. Meanwhile Morlan (three IP, one run) and Jeremy Jeffress (two IP, one hit, no runs) pitched well out of the bullpen in the loss.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Stars Falter Early to Tennessee

The Hunstville Stars never gathered enough offense to return from a six run first inning deficit in a 9-2 loss Saturday night to the Tennessee Smokies.

Stars starting pitcher Michael Bowman needed 41 pitches to get out of the first as he walked two, hit one and allowed four hits in the frame. Saturday's struggle was the first sub-par outing by a Stars starter since the second half playoff race began.

Tennessee tacked on to its double digit hit night with three additional runs in the third to make the Huntsville deficit nine before the Stars only offense came in the seventh inning. After collecting the winning hit on Friday, Caleb Gindl added two more RBI Saturday by bringing Lee Haydel around with a home run to right. The stocky outfielders eighth home run of the season was the first Gindl has hit since June 21.

Huntsville now sits two games back of Tennessee in the North and will look to get a game back Sunday afternoon. Game two of the Stars current road set starts at 4 p.m. (CDT). Right hander Mark Rogers is scheduled to start for the Stars. Rogers set a July ERA mark of 2.06 and started August well by setting the 2010 Stars high strikeout mark with ten in his last start, a six inning win over Carolina.

Friday, August 6, 2010

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).

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Buller provides the heroics as Stars walk-off in 13 innings

By Aaron Morse

Andre Lamontagne tossed six no-hit innings, but it was Dayton Buller who led the Stars to victory as he smashed a two-run walk-off home run in the 13th inning as Huntsville (23-17, 56-54) prevailed 5-3 over the Carolina Mudcats (19-21, 49-60) Thursday night.

Lamontagne was the story early in the game as he dominated the Mudcats. The second year pro out of Oral Roberts University retired the first 14 batters he faced before issuing back-to-back walks in the fifth inning. But a visit from pitching coach John Curtis settled him down and Lamontagne struck-out Carlos Mendez to end the inning.

He worked a 1-2-3 sixth frame and finished with a line of 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, and 5 K’s. Lamontagne threw 71 pitches, 47 of them for strikes. He got 10 ground-outs and two fly-outs in his second career Double-A start.

The only problem was that his opponent Scott Carroll was just as good. The former Purdue quarterback gave up a one-out double to Brett Lawrie in the first and that was pretty much it until the seventh inning.

Zelous Wheeler started things in the seventh with a single to right field. Drew Anderson reached first at the expense of Wheeler as he was forced out at second base. Chris Nowak ripped a double down the right field line; Luis Terrero had trouble handling the ball in the corner and would be charged with an error. Anderson scored on the play to make it 1-0 Stars but Nowak was not credited with a RBI. He advanced to third and Lee Haydel drove him home with a single to center.

The 2-0 lead looked to be quite safe. Lucas Luetge lost the no-hitter when he surrendered a double to Dave Sappelt. But he and Eddie Morlan provided the bridge to Robert Hinton in the ninth.

Hinton retired the first two batters he faced and it appeared that the Stars were on their way to a combined one-hitter. Sappelt ended those dreams when he singled to left. Terrero proceeded to surprise everyone by blasting his second homer of the year to tie the game at two.

It would remain that way until the 12th inning when Carolina got to Chris Cody for a run. Cody was his own worst enemy as he jumped ahead of Mike Costanzo 0-2 and ended up walking him. After making Devin Mesoraco look foolish on two straight pitches where Mesoraco’s bat went flying out of his hands; Cody hit him with a pitch that brushed his jersey. Sean Henry bunted the runners over and Brandon Yarbrough stroked a sacrifice fly to left. A strong throw from Haydel made the play at the plate bang-bang, but a good slide from Costanzo gave Carolina the 3-2 lead.

It wouldn’t last as Cody helped his own cause by smacking a single to left field to start the bottom half of the frame. Caleb Gindl bunted him to second and Brett Lawrie laced a triple to the right-center field gap to score Cody. It’s Lawrie’s league-leading 15th triple of the year. Unfortunately the Stars could not get him in from third as reliever Jerry Gil got two pop ups to end the inning.

Cody worked a 1-2-3 13th and was rewarded for his efforts in the bottom of the frame. Taylor Green stunned everyone as he laid down a perfect bunt against new pitcher Lee Tabor (3-1) that hugged the third base line until it hit the bag for an infield single. One out later Buller hit his second homer of the season to end the game and give Cody (6-7) and the Stars the dramatic victory.

Lawrie, Wheeler and Buller all tallied multi-hit games for the Stars.

The victory clinches the series for Huntsville. It’s the Stars’ third consecutive series win and sixth series victory out of their last seven. They didn’t gain any ground as the Smokies won as well so Huntsville remains one game back in the Southern League North Division.

Huntsville looks to take the series finale Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Wily Peralta (0-0, 1.50 ERA) will be making his third Double-A start. Join us on the Stars Radio Network beginning at 6:45 p.m. central time for the Window World Pre-Game Report.

Stars lose wild one against Mudcats

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (22-17. 55-54) rallied from seven runs down to force extra innings but fell in 10 frames to the Carolina Mudcats (19-20, 49-59) by a final score of 10-9 Wednesday night.

The game started as a pitcher’s duel. Amaury Rivas retired the first 10 batters he faced while Carolina starter Matt Klinker sent down the first nine batters to come to the plate for the Stars.

Rivas walked Jake Kahaulelio in the fourth; then ran into some bad luck. Dave Sappelt hit a chopper up the middle that Zelous Wheeler gloved. It looked like the Stars were going to be able to turn two, but Brett Lawrie got in Wheeler’s way, preventing Wheeler from tagging the bag and everyone was safe. Wheeler’s failure to tag the bag was ruled an error. Luis Terrero made the Stars pay with a double down the left field line, drivin in Kahaulelio and moving Sappelt around to third. A ground-out scored Sappelt to make it 2-0 Mudcats. Eric Eymann followed with a single up the gut, scoring Terrero, but Eymann was cut down at second base to end the inning by Anderson De La Rosa as he attempted to advance on the throw to the plate.

Huntsville struck back against Klinker in the bottom of the frame as Lee Haydel led-off with a single and Lawrie doubled him home.

Rivas appeared to be on his way to an easy fifth inning as he retired the first two batters. Klinker was somehow able to loop a single in to shallow right and Kris Negron ripped a triple down the line to make the score 4-1 Carolina.

The sixth inning is when the game got crazy. Carolina loaded the bases against Rivas with nobody out. Eymann cleared the bases with a triple and just like that it was 7-1. That was it for Rivas as Mike Guerrero brought in Nick Green. An error by Chris Nowak on a sharply hit grounder to the right side scored Eymann and it was 8-1 Mudcats. Green got out of the rest of the inning with no further damage.

Rivas went 5+ innings, giving up eight runs, four of them earned, on seven hits. He walked two and struck-out eight.

The seven-run deficit seemed insurmountable considering Huntsville was facing the man with the best ERA in the Southern League. Yet they wasted no time rallying in the bottom half of the frame. Pinch hitter Patrick Arlis singled to left and Haydel drew a walk. Lawrie ripped his second double of the night, driving in Arlis and moving Haydel to third. A single to center off the bat of Zelous Wheeler scored Haydel and moved Lawrie to third base. Drew Anderson drew a walk and Klinker was removed from the ballgame.

New pitcher Ruben Medina immediately surrendered a RBI single to Chris Nowak and the Stars pulled to within four. With the bases still loaded, Taylor Green unleashed a grand slam home run to tie the game at eight.

No one would score again until the 10th inning. The Stars did have their fair share of chances though. They got the lead-off man on in the eighth and ninth but failed to score.

Carolina got to reliever Jim Henderson (4-4) in the 10th. With one away, the pesky Sappelt singled to center. Henderson struck-out Luis Terrero but on strike three Sappelt was able to steal second base. The right-hander was one strike away from getting out of the inning unscathed. Brandon Yarbrough wouldn’t let him though as he singled to center, driving in Sappelt to make the score 9-8 Carolina. Yarbrough advanced to second on the throw home. Eymann drew a walk and Jose Castro picked a perfect time to get his first hit of the night as he singled to center to drive in Yarbrough for a very important insurance run. Chris Cody entered and got the Stars out of the inning with no further damage.

Huntsville refused to go down quietly though against Carolina closer Federico Baez. Haydel started the rally with a single to center. One out later Wheeler blooped a singled down the line, advancing Haydel to third. Anderson drew his third walk of the contest, loading the bases for Nowak. The big slugger smacked a sacrifice fly to draw the Stars to within one.

Green, who already had a grand slam on the night, just missed an extra base hit as he still drove the ball a long ways towards right-center field despite breaking his bat. Unfortunately, Terrero was able to chase it down and the Stars fell one run short.

The loss breaks Huntsville’s five game winning streak and moves them one game back of the Tennessee Smokies in the north division.

They look to clinch the series against Carolina Thursday night as they send Andre Lamontagne (3-0, 2.76 ERA) to the mound. First pitch is at 7:00 p.m. central time on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Talent and Experience

By Aaron Morse

It’s not often Double-A teams can brag about having both talent and experience in the middle of the order.

But the Huntsville Stars have been on fire recently because they have exactly that in Drew Anderson and Chris Nowak. Neither started the year with the Stars, but they have a good shot at finishing it in the Southern League Play-Offs.

“It helps to have guys who have been around to help some of the younger guys, to show them what it takes to prepare each and every day,” Anderson said. “It’s nice to have Chris behind you, you’re going to get some better pitches to hit; they don’t want to pitch around me too much knowing that Chris can swing it really well.”

In his last 10 games with Nowak batting behind him in the order, Anderson is hitting at a .342 clip. The 29-year old former Nebraska Cornhusker is not considered a prospect like Brett Lawrie and Caleb Gindl, but he’s the type of player every team needs if they want to make a run at the Southern League title.

Last year Anderson was a Southern League Mid-Season All-Star. This year he started the season in Triple-A Nashville before being reassigned to Huntsville on May 26. Initially he played first base but he went on the DL on June 11. Anderson was activated on June 26 and saw his playing time increase by leaps and bounds when Lorenzo Cain earned a promotion to Nashville on July 2. The Cain promotion opened up a spot in the outfield that Anderson has held down ever since.

He also brings major league experience to the table, having been called up in September of 2006 by the Brewers.

“It was awesome, it was the reason I’m still here now, just trying to get back,” Anderson said. “It was the pinnacle of my playing career so the goal is to try to find a way to get there and stay there.”

Anderson said the experience in the major leagues was worth every second of playing in the minor leagues.

He’s is a left-handed slugger (five homers in 43 games) who can hit lefties (.308 batting average vs. LHP), but it’s been the addition of Chris Nowak that has made Anderson’s presence in the middle of the order all that more valuable.

It was fortuitous for the Stars that the Rays’ organization released Nowak right about the same time first baseman Steffan Wilson went on the disabled list. The Stars picked up the 6’5’’ power hitting corner infielder right away.

“I was actually watching that game (when Wilson got hurt) and I’ve had that happen, a dislocated shoulder,” Nowak said. “I know it stinks but an opportunity came open for me so it’s kind of a blessing in disguise I guess.”

Since Nowak arrived in Huntsville on July 14, the Stars are 12-7 and he’s driven in 15 runs in the 18 games he’s played.

The 27-year old slugger had been with the Rays’ organization ever since they drafted him in the 19th round in 2004.

“They’d put me on the phantom roster, so I got the word out that I was probably going to be released in a couple days,” Nowak said. “The Brewers picked me up right away so it’s nice to stay in organized baseball with an organization as good as the Brewers.”

Whether veteran leadership in a game as individualized as baseball really matters is up for debate, but Nowak says it certainly doesn’t hurt.

“There’s a bunch of young guys on this team, to have some veteran guys in the clubhouse is definitely a plus,” Nowak said. “We’ve been there, done that, so hopefully we can bring a championship back here.”

If Nowak does help Anderson and the rest of the Stars bring a championship to Huntsville, it will be the height of irony. He was named the Southern League Championship Series’ MVP in 2007 when the Biscuits won the title.

Who was the opponent in that series?

You guessed it, the Huntsville Stars.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Stars match their longest winning streak of the year with blowout win

By Aaron Morse

Drew Anderson tallied three hits, Mark Rogers went six strong innings, and the Huntsville Stars (22-16, 55-53) rolled to a 10-2 win over the Carolina Mudcats (18-20, 48-59) Tuesday night.

It’s the Stars’ fifth consecutive win, a feat they’ve accomplished only twice before in the 2010 season. With the victory the Stars move into a tie for first place atop the Southern League North Division with the Tennessee Smokies.

The game was close through the first six innings of action. Huntsville did jump out to a 3-0 lead against Mudcats’ starter James Avery (0-1) in the first. With one away Caleb Gindl singled to center. Zelous Wheeler followed with a single of his own and Anderson singled through the right side to load the bases. That’s when Chris Nowak laced a double down the left field line, driving in two and setting up Taylor Green who smacked a sacrifice fly to make the score 3-0 Stars.

The Mudcats chipped away at the deficit as they got one run in the third on a two-out Dave Sappelt RBI single. Sappelt delivered a two-out RBI triple in the fifth to cut the Stars’ lead to one.

But he proved to be the only Carolina hitter who could figure out Rogers. The former first round pick went six innings, scattering four hits, giving up two runs (both earned), walked only two and struck-out 10. The 10 strike-outs are the most by a Stars’ pitcher this season.

Nevertheless the game was close even after Nowak blasted his second homer as a Star in the sixth to extend the lead to 4-2.

That’s when Carolina’s defense fell apart. With two outs and Gindl on first via a walk, Anderson hit a blooper into shallow center field. Sappelt attempted to make a diving catch and the ball got slightly behind him. Anderson attempted to stretch the single in to a double and in his rush to try and throw Anderson out, Sappelt made a poor throw back to the infield. The ball squirted away from second base and Gindl came around to score. The error also advanced Anderson to third.

The saying is when it rains, it pours, and the Mudcats proved that when Nowak’s routine grounder went off the leg of shortstop Kris Negron, scoring Anderson and giving the Stars a 6-2 lead.

The good Stars offense and the bad Carolina defense continued in the eighth. With one out, Dayton Buller and pinch hitter Andy Machado singled. Brett Lawrie followed with his 25th double of the year, driving in Buller. After Gindl walked, Wheeler singled to right to drive in Machado. Mike Guerrero held Lawrie at third initially, but right fielder Sean Henry’s throw to the plate sailed to the backstop, allowing Lawrie to score. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Anderson completed the scoring onslaught, leaving the Stars ahead 10-2.

Huntsville looks to extend the winning streak Wednesday night and clinch the series with Carolina as well. They’ll send Amaury Rivas (10-5, 2.67 ERA) to the mound. Tune in on www.huntsvillestars.com beginning at 6:45 p.m. central time for the Window World Pre-Game Report.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Stars shining brightly as they win fourth in a row

By Aaron Morse

Taylor Green smacked a walk-off two-run homer in the 13th and the Huntsville Stars (21-16, 54-53) won in come-from-behind fashion by a final score of 5-3 over the Carolina Mudcats (18-19, 48-58) Monday night.

It’s the Stars’ fourth straight win and second consecutive victory in extra frames. The win moves the Stars to within one game of first place in the Southern League North as the Tennessee Smokies lost to the Montgomery Biscuits by a final count of 4-3. Also, the Stars now have a winning record overall for the first time since May 22.

Carolina took the early 1-0 lead in the second as Sean Henry got things going against Stars’ starter Michael Bowman with a ground-rule double to the right-center field gap. After a grounder moved him to third, Chris Denove legged out an infield single, driving in Henry for the first run of the ballgame.

They kept the pressure on the Stars with runs in the fourth and the sixth. Luis Terrero led-off the fourth with a single to center. A Brett Lawrie error allowed the Mudcats to put runners at first and third with nobody out. Bowman proceeded to uncork a wild pitch and just like that it was 2-0.

Terrero also started the Mudcats’ offense in the sixth with a double to left. One out later Henry singled him in to extend the lead to 3-0.

Bowman pitched a fine game, going seven innings, scattering six hits giving up three runs (all earned), walking one and striking-out three.

It didn’t look like it’d be enough though until the Stars came roaring back in the seventh and eighth.

After being shut down by Mudcats’ starter Travis Webb for the first six frames, Huntsville got to reliever Bradley Boxberger in the seventh. Green drew a lead-off walk and advanced to second on a Lee Haydel single. Anderson De La Rosa singled to load the bases but pinch hitter Andy Machado popped out. Lawrie hit a grounder to second; the Mudcats got the lead runner for the second out. However, the hustling Lawrie beat the throw to first, driving in Green and cutting the deficit to two.

The eighth inning would be huge as Mudcats’ reliever Joseph Krebs couldn’t hold on to the lead. A Zelous Wheeler infield single was followed by a Drew Anderson two-run blast, knotting the game up at three.

From then on it was a battle of attrition as the Stars’ bullpen shined. Jim Henderson tossed an inning of shutout ball and Robert Hinton followed that up with two of his own.
It was Lucas Luetge (2-2) who emerged as the pitching star in extras though, as he tossed three shutout innings. Both teams had plenty of chances to take the lead as Carolina left nine men stranded and went 2-11 with men in scoring position. Meanwhile the Stars left 10 men on base and went 2-8 with men in scoring position.

It looked like the Mudcats would take the lead when they loaded the bases with two away in the 11th. Taylor Green had other ideas, making a great diving play on a grounder off the bat of Kris Negron, robbing him of a hit and ending the inning.

Green followed up his defensive heroics with the decisive two-run bomb in the bottom of the 13th off Mudcats’ reliever Jerry Gil (3-6). His homer scored Chris Nowak who had reached on an infield single to third.

Anderson, Nowak, and De La Rosa tallied multi-hit games and Anderson and Green each drove in two runs with their respective homers. The Stars managed to get the victory despite Lawrie and Caleb Gindl going a combined 0-12.

The four-game winning streak is one short of the Stars’ longest of the year.

They’ll look to get another win over the Mudcats Tuesday as Mark Rogers (4-7, 3.39 ERA) takes to the hill. Join us on www.huntsvillestars.com beginning at 6:45 p.m. central time for the Window World Pre-Game Report.