A View From Behind The Mic

Stars’ play-off hopes on life support after loss to Montgomery

2010-09-03T04:58:00.001-07:00

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (32-33, 65-70) rallied from two runs down to tie the game in the seventh, but some bad defense and some bad luck cost them in the eighth as they fell to the Montgomery Biscuits (33-33, 71-63) by a final score of 6-3 Thursday night.

With the defeat, Huntsville finds themselves four games out of the Wild Card race with only five games remaining in the regular season. They must win the remainder of their games and the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx must lose the remainder of their games in order for Huntsville to make the play-offs.

The Stars jumped out to the early lead in the second inning, but it would not last long. Drew T. Anderson lined a single into right field to start things off. After Chris Nowak was hit by a pitch, Taylor Green crushed a ball to deep right field. Unfortunately it was not quite deep enough as John Matulia reeled it in on the warning track. On the play Anderson advanced to third. That’s when Andy Machado delivered a clutch single up the middle to make the score 1-0. Huntsville nearly got another run when Lee Haydel hit a liner to right; Nowak tried to score on the play and Matulia threw him out to end the inning.

The Biscuits came roaring back in the bottom of the frame. Matulia led-off with a triple to right. One out later, Matt Fields delivered a sacrifice fly to center. Caleb Gindl’s throw barely was not in time as Matulia slid around the tag of Anderson De La Rosa. Stars’ starter Amaury Rivas had some uncharacteristic control problems in the game, and they were on full display in the second as he hit Matt Spring and Shawn O’Malley to put runners on first and second with two outs. Rashad Eldridge singled up the middle to drive in the second run of the inning.

Huntsville trailed 3-1 until the seventh inning when Nowak was hit by yet another pitch. Green found a hole on the right side as he singled. But it appeared the rally might be stunted when a sacrifice bunt attempt ended up getting Nowak thrown out at third base. De La Rosa made sure that was not the case as he singled to left to drive in Green and cut the Biscuits’ lead to one. Brett Lawrie beat out an infield single to drive in the second run of the inning and knot the game at three.

Reliever Robert Hinton ran into some bad luck in the eighth. After Matt Spring singled to start the inning, the Biscuits tried to bunt him over. The ball went to first baseman Chris Nowak who fired to Machado covering second. It deflected off his glove and into shallow right field, putting runners at first and second with nobody out. An intentional walk loaded the bases, and one out later things got interesting. Hinton and the Stars clearly felt he was getting squeezed with Jose Ruiz at the plate. Ruiz eventually walked to drive in the go-ahead run. Then Henry Wrigley hit a grounder to Green who threw home to try and get the lead runner. But the home plate umpire ruled that De La Rosa’s foot came off the plate and another run was in. Once again the Stars were displeased with the call. Yet another walk drove in the third run of the inning. Hinton was visibly upset as he shouted at the home plate umpire. Chris Nowak must have said something wrong over at first because the first base umpire ejected him from the game. A ground-out ended the inning but the damage was done as the Stars found themselves down 6-3.

They were unable to push across any runs in the ninth despite a Brett Lawrie two-out triple as they dropped the rubber match in the series.

Huntsville returns to “The Joe” for five must-win games against Mobile starting Friday night at 7:00 p.m. central time. Wily Peralta (1-3, 4.10 ERA) will be on the mound. You can catch all the action on www.huntsvillestars.com.

The Tools of Ignorance

2010-09-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Anderson De La Rosa squats behind the plate as he awaits a 98 mph fast ball from former first round draft pick Mark Rogers. The ball will arrive at home plate in about four tenths of a second. That’s literally in a blink of an eye. It doesn’t go straight into De La Rosa’s glove. Instead the batter fouls the ball off the 26-year old catcher’s foot. Catchers wear lots of protective gear. A mask, a chest protector, and shin guards make up what’s known in baseball parlance as the “tools of ignorance.” Unfortunately, those protective measures don’t include one’s foot. All De La Rosa has there are his shoes. He hops up and down in pain and bends at the waist to try to will the pain away.

There’s no more physically demanding position in the game of baseball than catcher. No one knows that better than the Stars’ oldest player, nine-year veteran Patrick Arlis. At 29 years of age, Arlis has spent most of his career with the Florida Marlins’ organization. He’s had two stints in independent ball and came to the Brewers’ organization in 2009.

“The main thing people don’t realize is you can’t take a great hitter and turn him in to a catcher just because of the fact that the grind on your legs is unbelievable,” Arlis said. “You can catch nine innings and be not gassed one night. And the next night you catch three innings and you don’t have anything left in the tank.”

That makes hitting rather difficult.

“You’re supposed to go up there and try to turn on a pitch in a situation; it’s tough to do because you don’t have any legs,” Arlis said. “So you have to take care of yourself day in and day out. During the day, at night, during the game, everything, your legs are your most important asset.”

Arlis is the Crash Davis of the Huntsville Stars. He’s been around the game for many years and loves it with a passion. But he realizes that nothing lasts forever.

“Baseball, you want it to be life,” Arlis said. “In the end it’s not always that way. A plan is something not a lot of these guys have. I’ve been released, not like a lot of these guys that I’m playing with now.”

Arlis has a plan. He’s been working the past two years to earn his Master’s Degree in Elementary Education through the University of Phoenix, an online school. He wants to be a middle school Physical Education teacher when his playing days end. When speaking of his younger colleagues in the game of baseball, he emphasizes the need to have a plan of action if baseball does not work out.

“They don’t understand that it’s not that easy to get another job,” Arlis said. “When the game is over, you know, it’s over. If you don’t have anything to do, you’re in trouble. I had a coach my first year tell me, baseball is a suspended state of adolescence. And when it’s over, you wake up, you’re 25 years old, and you don’t have anything.”

Dayton Buller, 29, describes Arlis as the hardest working player on the team. Buller started playing professional ball the same year as his fellow catcher and has also had a stint where he was out of affiliated baseball. The Brewers purchased his contract from Camden of the Atlantic League this year after Martin Maldonado earned a promotion to Triple-A Nashville. He came to the Stars and smashed a home run in only his second game. But hitting is not the primary focus when you’re serving as the captain of the infield.

“Calling a game and handling a staff and just controlling the game; you get so many good things out of it,” Buller said. “When you win you really feel like you did something even if you go 0-4.”

Every detail matters. Fans tend to notice the big events in a game. The 450-foot grand slam, the dominating pitching performance, the spectacular catch, those are the things that make Sports Center. Buller even had a “big moment” this year when he hit a walk-off home run against the Carolina Mudcats. However the catcher is responsible for the stuff that does not necessarily show up in the box score.

“Controlling everything, making sure the infielders know when a bunt situation is on and who bunts, who’s fast, and stuff like that [is important],” Buller said. “Making sure the pitcher knows exactly what the situation is; and who’s on deck and everything. You’ve got to know every single thing that’s going on in the game; you cannot take any pitches off or that one pitch could be the game.”

Not only that, but you have to also manage some pretty interesting personalities when it comes to working with the pitchers. Arlis says the key for the men wearing the tools of ignorance is…knowledge.

“You just learn about everybody,” Arlis said. “You get thrown into the fire; you start talking to a lot of guys, you learn their personality. What they can take, what they can’t. You’ve got to know what guys you have to go out [to the mound] and talk nice to and what guys you go out and be a real jerk to. What’s going to fire them up and make them more successful? The more successful they are the less work you have to do in the end.”

Work is not something the Stars’ catchers are afraid of, that’s for sure. They don’t really get days off. If one guy is not catching a certain day, he’s down in the bullpen helping the relievers warm-up. There’s no such thing as a designated “bullpen catcher” at the Double-A level.

However the Stars are lucky they have three catchers (Buller is currently on the DL, but all three have been active at the same time in previous weeks), instead of the normal two. That brings us to the aforementioned De La Rosa. The 26-year old out of Venezuela has a cannon for an arm. He has thrown out 41 percent of would-be base-runners during his six years as a backstop in the Brewers’ organization.

“[This year] I am focusing more on my defense and blocking everything, working for the pitcher, throwing guys out at the bases,” De La Rosa said. “I feel really good when I throw guys out at second base.”

De La Rosa smiles as he talks about his ability to play a bunch of positions. He says before he signed with the Brewers in 2003 he played a lot of outfield and some corner infield as well. In 2005, Milwaukee asked him if he’d want to try out catcher. De La Rosa had played the position as a young kid so he was very receptive to the idea. But he says it hasn’t been a cakewalk.

“Everything’s hard, when you play catcher, everything’s hard,” De La Rosa said. “You want to be focused on the game so you can call good pitches. You need to study every hitter. Every at bat is different. The pitchers are top prospects so you have to work really hard to help them do well.”

Talking to De La Rosa, one gets the sense that he takes more pride in helping the pitching staff succeed than his own personal accomplishments. This self-less attitude is a quality Arlis and Buller have as well. None of these men are considered prospects to play in “the show”, nor do they put up big offensive numbers at the Double-A level.

But the Stars would be a lesser team without them.

“Too many guys in pro ball are just here because they think they’re going to make it to the big leagues,” Arlis said. “They don’t want to play the game and they don’t play the game properly. Personally, I’ve had a great time.”

De La Rosa shakes off the pain of the foul ball. He gets back behind home plate and gets ready for some more Rogers heat. There are still seven more innings to catch.

Stars Hit Double Digits To Even Series

2010-09-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

Connor Shreve

The Huntsville Stars turned in a dominating performance on Wednesday night to get back to within striking distance of the wild card race. The 10-4 win at Montgomery placed Huntsville 3.5 games back of the Diamond Jaxx in the battle to determine the final playoff team that will represent the Northern Division in the 2010 Southern League post season.

Huntsville started early with five second inning hits, four doubles, all of which came with two outs in the inning. The Stars led by four runs after two innings, tacked on one in the fifth and put the contest out of reach with a five spot in the sixth inning. Zelous Wheeler and Chris Nowak teamed up to knock back to back blasts in the sixth. Nowak’s shot was the first against his former squad, sailing out of the ballpark beyond left field and disappearing in to the forest backdrop beyond the train tracks that skirt the state Capitals downtown stadium.

Mark Rogers turned in his second strong outing against the biscuits in as many tries. The only run Rogers allowed came in the fifth thanks to Shawn O’Malley. O’Malley picked up an RBI on his single but the Biscuits stumbled with men on and nobody out. O’Malley was joined by Emeel Salem on base when Rogers struck out Rashaad Eldridge and induced an inning ending double play ball from Jose Ruiz.

With a chance to make Huntsville’s playoff chances slim to none, West Tenn came up short against Mississippi, 10-1. The Diamond Jaxx have led the wildcard chase most of the way but left the door open for the Stars having lost six of the last ten games. West Tennessee finishes the season with four games against Chattanooga in a series running from Sep 3-6.

Huntsville tries for a series victory in the finale Thursday night at 7:05 (CDT).

Stars Playoff Hopes Waning

2010-08-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars split twin bill with Mobile

2010-08-30T00:00:00.001-07:00

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.

Stars edged by BayBears

2010-08-27T01:20:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars salvage series finale with Biscuits

2010-08-25T19:01:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-25T04:15:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-25T03:40:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars stymied by Barons

2010-08-23T02:50:00.001-07:00

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.

Stars prevail in low-scoring battle with Barons

2010-08-22T09:28:00.001-07:00

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.

Barons steal one from Stars

2010-08-21T00:09:00.003-07:00

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

2010-08-21T00:09:00.001-07:00

Stars take early lead, fall to Barons late

2010-08-20T14:00:00.001-07:00

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.

Stars Close To Wild Card

2010-08-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

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

Stars pull off dramatic comeback win

2010-08-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars miss multiple opportunities in game two loss

2010-08-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-15T12:38:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-15T00:20:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars drop game one of Saturday’s double dip

2010-08-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars Playoff Push Must Start With Diamond Jaxx

2010-08-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-12T11:37:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-12T11:20:00.001-07:00

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.

Stars Falter Early to Tennessee

2010-08-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

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.

Anderson ties a record and Stars get another dramatic win

2010-08-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

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).

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

2010-08-05T23:40:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

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.

Talent and Experience

2010-08-04T13:27:00.001-07:00

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.

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

2010-08-03T23:04:00.001-07:00

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.

Stars shining brightly as they win fourth in a row

2010-08-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars Shutout Opposition

2010-07-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

Connor Shreve

The Huntsville Stars guaranteed a series victory over Mississippi with a 5-0 victory Saturday night at "The Joe".

The Stars quickly gave starting pitcher Andre Lamontagne a cushion with two first inning runs. Brett Lawrie and Caleb gindle both picked up hits to start the game. The two men at the top of the order also added a base to their resume by swiping a free bag on the same pitch. Lawrie scored on a deep sac fly by Chris Nowak, which may have easily sailed over the fence had it not been for near hurricane like winds with storms looming. The Stars RBI leader Taylor Green brought home Gindle with a single before the inning came to a close.

Green continued his RBI tear in the third. A two out double in the third baseman's next time up brought home Zelous Wheeler and added to Greens impressive night. The Stars third baseman finished 3-4 with a run and two RBI. The 24 year old Canadian national has now driven in 59 runs heading in to the final full month of the season, good for sixth in the league.

The hometown Stars scored more but the pitching staff didn't need any extra. Lamontagne and Chris Cody combined for a four hit shutout. Lamontagne remains unbeaten with the Stars, moving to 3-0 while Cody seems to be embracing his new spot in the bullpen.

Cody started the sixth in his first appearance since being transferred to the pen on July 28 and threw four innings while notching his first save of the year. Each Huntsville hurler gave up two hits, walked one and struck out three M-Braves batters.
The Stars will play game five of the current ten game road trip Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (CDT). A Huntsville win combined with a Tennessee loss in Kodak would bring the Stars to within one game of the first place Smokies.

The game can be heard live on www.huntsvillestars.com

Stars Win By One

2010-07-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

Connor Shreve

Eddie Morlan closed a one run ballgame with the bases loaded for a 5-4 Huntsville win at Joe Davis Stadium Friday night. The game never gave the perception that it would resemble the pitchers duel of the previous night.

Michael Daniel punched a ball through Huntsville’s infield with one out in the second and was quickly caught trying to steal. Eliminating Daniel saved a run; Donell Linares knocked a single, one of four in the M-Braves half of the frame, and was brought home by the next batter when backstop Shawn McGill crushed his first homer of the year to right field to give Mississippi a two run advantage.

The visitors lead lasted less than fifteen minutes. Chris Nowak started the bottom half of the inning with a single and came around to score courtesy Taylor Green and his eighth bomb of the season. Huntsville used the fifth inning to jettison from the M-Braves.

Anderson De La Rosa and pitcher Amaury Rivas both crossed home in the fifth thanks to sloppy play on the part of Mississippi. De La Rosa doubled and made it to third on Rivas’ bunt, a bunt that was misplayed and allowed all to reach safely. The Braves mistakenly tried to get De La Rosa at third and the close play did not allow a throw to first leaving Rivas safely on the bag. The comedy of errors continued when Eric Duncan could not handle a ball hit off the bat of Brett Lawrie that allowed the Stars infielder to pick up another RBI for bringing home De La Rosa. After a groundout left Mississippi with a chance to escape, Zelous Wheeler punctuated the frame by lining a shot off the leg of M-Braves pitcher Richard Sullivan and scoring Rivas.

Amaury Rivas wasn’t the only Huntsville pitcher to help offensively. Robert Hinton, who came on to finish the sixth, added an insurance run in the same inning with a two out single. The base hit was Hinton’s first of the year.

Rivas (10-5 2.67) departed with one out in the sixth and became the first Stars pitcher to win ten games in 2010. He scattered eight hits and allowed two earned runs while walking three and punching out five Mississippi batters on strikes. His win appeared to be in jeopardy in the ninth but Eddie Morlan worked out of the bases loaded jam to preserve the victory. Morlan, the third Stars pitcher of the inning, started Daniel with three balls out of the zone but came roaring back by throwing three straight strikes to bring the contest to a close.

With win number 18 for the second half in the bag and a Carolina loss, the Stars moved in to sole position of second place in the north remaining two games back of Tennessee. Huntsville can guarantee a series victory with a win Saturday as the current set continues at 6:00 p.m. (CDT).

Stars move to within a game of first with win over Braves

2010-07-29T07:35:00.001-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Drew Anderson and Chris Nowak drove in two runs each and the Huntsville Stars’ (17-15, 50-52) pitching staff was dominant on their way to a 6-0 victory over the Mississippi Braves (15-17, 45-55) Wednesday night.

It was the second consecutive excellent outing from Stars’ right-hander Michael Bowman. This time he was rewarded with a win. Bowman battled with his control all night, walking four batters. But he held the Braves scoreless in his six innings of work. Bowman only surrendered two hits, both to Mauro Gomez, and struck-out four.

His counterpart was 19-year old top prospect Julio Teheran, making his double-A debut. Teheran also had to battle his control early, but was unable to work around his issues.

Anderson barely missed a home run in the second inning with a double off the wall in right. Nowak followed by singling him home to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.

In the third inning, Bowman did some great work with the stick, fouling off pitch after pitch and finally working a 12-pitch walk. That seemed to rattle Teheran, who walked Caleb Gindl, Zelous Wheeler, and Anderson as well. The Anderson walk brought home Bowman to extend the Stars’ advantage to 2-0. Teheran caught a break when Nowak hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

The Stars chased Teheran from the game in the fifth. Brett Lawrie led-off with a single up the middle. He was able to steal second base despite the throw beating him there as Tyler Pastornicky missed the tag. Gindl drew another walk, as did Anderson to load the bases. Nowak drove in Lawrie with a well-hit sacrifice fly to left. Everyone else moved up 90 feet as well and Gindl scored when Taylor Green rapped a single to right. That was it for Teheran as Benino Pruneda entered, only to give up a a RBI single to Lee Haydel. When the dust settled the Stars had a 5-0 lead.

They’d tack on one more in the eighth on back-to-back doubles from Wheeler and Anderson. Drew nearly hit two homers on the day but had to settle a 2-3 night with two runs scored, two doubles, two RBI, and two walks. Anderson De La Rosa, Lawrie, and Haydel all had multi-hit games as well.

The Stars’ bullpen was excellent as Nick Green tossed two scoreless innings while Eddie Morlan worked the ninth to finish off the Braves.

For Huntsville it’s their fifth shutout of the year thrown by their pitching staff. With the win, combined with Tennessee and Carolina losing, the Stars sit all alone in second place, one game back of the Smokies in the north division.

The Stars look to win game two of the five game set Thursday night as they send Mark Rogers (4-7, 3.68 ERA) to the mound. First pitch is at 7:00 p.m. and can be heard only on www.huntsvillestars.com.

Stars miss multiple opportunities, fall to Suns

2010-07-26T21:43:00.001-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Matt Dominguez hit a walk-off single in the ninth as the Jacksonville Suns (17-14, 57-44) edged the Huntsville Stars (16-15, 49-52) by a final score of 2-1 Monday night.

Huntsville left 13 men on base in the contest and the Stars were only 2-19 with runners in scoring position.

The lack of production wasted a great Double-A debut from Wily Peralta as he went six innings, scattering six hits, giving up a lone run while walking four and striking out five.

The Stars got on the board first in the second inning. Chris Nowak led-off with a double. One out later Chuckie Caufield drew a walk. That’s when Lee Haydel came up big with a RBI single to give Huntsville the 1-0 lead.

But the Suns responded right away against Peralta in the bottom half of the frame. With two away Tim Torres singled to center and John Otness doubled him home. The play at the plate was very close but Torres just slid in under Anderson De La Rosa’s tag to even things at one.

Neither team scored again until the ninth, but it’s not like the Stars didn’t have their fair share of chances. In fact, they got a runner in scoring position every inning from there on out with the exception of the ninth, yet they were unable to score. Perhaps their best opportunity came in the fifth when they couldn’t take advantage of a lead-off triple off the bat of Brett Lawrie.

The Suns finally made the Stars pay in the ninth against Lucas Luetge (1-2) and Robert Hinton. Lorenzo Scott singled off Luetge to start the inning. Ryan Curry bunted him over to second and the Stars decided to intentionally walk Vinny Rottino. Mike Guerrero called on Hinton to try and get Southern League All-Star Game MVP Matt Dominguez out. He was unable to as Dominguez singled up the middle, driving in Scott for the walk-off win.

With the loss, the Stars fall to two games back of the Tennessee Smokies in the north division.

The Stars are off Tuesday before returning to Joe Davis Stadium on Wednesday to open a 10-game home stand. The Mississippi Braves are in town and you can hear all the action on www.huntsvillestars.com. First pitch on Wednesday is at 7:00 p.m. central time.

Stars sneak past Suns in extra innings

2010-07-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (16-14, 49-51) took advantage of two Jacksonville Suns (16-14, 56-44) errors in the top half of the tenth inning to prevail 4-1 Sunday afternoon.

It was a pitcher’s duel early on as Chris Cody and Elih Villanueva were both excellent on the hill. The Stars got on the board first in the top of the fourth. Zelous Wheeler led-off the inning with a single to center. Wheeler swiped second base and with one away Chris Nowak got hit by a pitch. The Stars loaded the bases after Taylor Green drew a walk. Villanueva managed to get Lee Haydel pop out, but with Patrick Arlis at the plate, the former Florida State Seminole uncorked a wild pitch. Wheeler came hustling home and the Stars grabbed the 1-0 lead.

Meanwhile Chris Cody walked a bit of a tightrope. In the first inning the Suns got a runner to third but a sharp liner to Taylor Green allowed him to turn the unassisted double play and get Cody out of trouble.

Ryan Curry smacked a two-out double in the second but Cody struck-out Jason Delaney to end the inning.

In the third, the Suns got another man to third base and this time Lorenzo Scott hit a fly ball to center that Caleb Gindl caught and fired to plate. His throw was true and John Otness was out by a mile.

Cody hardly broke a sweat after a one-out double in the fourth went for naught for Jacksonville.

It wasn’t until the sixth inning that Cody sent the Suns down 1-2-3, and he ran into more trouble in the seventh. Back-to-back singles and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with only one away. Stars’ manager Mike Guerrero opted to call on Eddie Morlan to relieve Cody and try to get out of the inning.

Morlan would do exactly that but not before an Otness sacrifice fly tied things up at one. Cody got a no-decision but pitched well, going 6.1 innings, scattering seven hits, surrendering the lone run, walking nobody and striking out two.

The game remained tied until the fateful tenth.

Patrick Arlis legged out an infield single against reliever Kris Harvey. Stars’ pitcher Jim Henderson got down a beautiful sacrifice bunt, putting the go-ahead run into scoring position. Brett Lawrie followed with an infield single of his own and the Stars had runners at the corners with only one down. Caleb Gindl chopped a ball to first base that Vinny Rottino threw wild to home, allowing Arlis to score and giving the Stars the 2-1 lead. Huntsville showed off their trademark aggressiveness by pulling off a double steal. With runners on second and third, the poor defense continued as Zelous Wheeler hit a grounder to short that Osvaldo Martinez threw wildly to home, so wild was his throw that two runs scored on the play, extending the lead to 4-1.

Henderson tossed a scoreless bottom of the 10th to give the Stars their third consecutive victory and a much-needed series win over the Suns. The Stars managed to win the game despite only tallying six hits (no one had a multi-hit game) and zero RBI.

The Stars look to take 4 of 5 from the Suns as they play at 6:05 p.m. central time Monday night. Michael Fiers (1-0, 4.15 ERA) will take on Andrew Miller (1-5, 5.52 ERA). You can hear all the action only on www.huntsvillestars.com.

Stars beat Suns in back-and-forth battle

2010-07-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Drew Anderson smacked a two-RBI double to give the Stars (15-14, 48-51) the lead for good and Huntsville’s pitching staff struck-out a season-high 16 batters on their way to a 5-2 victory Saturday night over the Jacksonville Suns (16-13, 56-43).

Jacksonville got to Stars’ starter Amaury Rivas in the second inning as Matt Dominguez started things with a lead-off walk. A grounder moved him to second, and with two away Tim Torres came through with a bloop single to left, scoring Dominguez and giving the Suns a 1-0 lead.

Huntsville got some two-out lightning of their own in the top of the third. Caleb Gindl doubled to left and Zelous Wheeler followed with a double of his own to tie the game at one.

The back-and-forth two-out offense continued in the bottom of the frame. Amaury Rivas retired the first two batters he faced and struck-out Osvaldo Martinez for what should have been out number three. Unfortunately the ball got away from Anderson De La Rosa, allowing Martinez to reach safely. Martinez took advantage by stealing second base and scoring on a Vinny Rottino single.

The Suns’ 2-1 lead didn’t last long as the Stars came back in the top of the fourth. Chris Nowak led-off with a walk. That was the end of the day for Suns’ starter Jose Rosario as the Suns brought in Wade Korpi (0-3). Nowak proceeded to steal second base and advance to third on a Taylor Green ground-out. Lee Haydel smacked a sacrifice fly to knot things at two.

Korpi’s control was his undoing in the fifth as he walked Rivas and Lawrie to start the inning. It was the first time all year Rivas has reached base. Caleb Gindl bunted the runners over and Korpi walked Wheeler as well. With the bases full, Drew Anderson came up large with a double to right, scoring Rivas and Lawrie to give the Stars a 4-2 advantage.

Rivas (9-5) went five innings, giving up four hits and two runs, both earned. He walked one and struck-out six. Nick Green came in for Rivas and was dominant, tossing two scoreless innings and striking-out five hitters.

Huntsville added an insurance run in the eighth thanks to a Wheeler solo homer. Jim Henderson struck-out two on his way to a scoreless bottom half of the frame.

Robert Hinton nailed down his third save of the year and second in as many days with a 1-2-3 ninth as he struck-out the side.

With the win, the Stars pull to within 1.5 games of the Tennessee Smokies for the north division lead as Tennessee was rained out Saturday.

Huntsville looks to clinch the series victory Sunday afternoon as they’ll get started at 2:05 p.m. central time. The Stars’ starter is TBA, but he’ll be squaring off against Elih Villanueva (10-4, 2.39 ERA). Tune in beginning at 1:50 p.m. for the Window World Pre-Game Report on the Stars Radio Network.

Stars edge Suns to break four game skid

2010-07-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Chris Nowak singled home Drew Anderson in the eighth and Taylor Green tied a club record for doubles in a game with three as the Huntsville Stars (14-14, 47-51) snuck past the Jacksonville Suns (16-12, 56-42) by a final score of 3-2 Friday night.

Each team put up two runs in the second inning. With one away, back-to-back doubles from Green and Lee Haydel gave Huntsville a 1-0 edge. Then with two away, Stars’ starter Mark Rogers helped out his own cause with a double of his own to drive in Haydel and give the Stars a 2-0 lead.

But the advantage would be short-lived as the Suns came back in their half of the frame. Former Star Vinny Rottino singled to lead things off. He stole second base and Lee Mitchell drew a walk. One out later Ryan Curry doubled home Rottino, putting runners at second and third with one out. John Otness grounded out, driving in the tying run in the process. Rogers walked another batter but was able to get out of the inning with no further damage when he got the next batter to ground back to the mound.

It was another shaky night for Rogers, who is always tough to hit, but continues to have control issues. He went 4.2 innings, giving up two runs on only two hits, but he walked five and struck-out four. It took him 88 pitches to get through his night and he was replaced after he walked Rottino with two outs in the fifth inning. Lucas Luetge entered and walked the first man he faced but was able to get out of the inning unscathed.

Unlike in previous games, the battle of the bullpens went the Stars’ way. Suns’ starter Tom Koehler tossed six innings, giving up two runs on six hits. He walked two and struck-out six.

Dan Jennings (4-2), fresh off his ejection the previous night, entered in the seventh and threw a shutout inning before the Stars got to him in the eighth. With one away Drew Anderson drilled the Stars’ sixth double of the night. Chris Nowak followed with a jam-shot single that scored Anderson, putting the Stars ahead 3-2.

Taylor Green etched his name in the Stars’ record book with his third double of the night, tied for the most in a single game by a Star, but he was left stranded. He’s the first Star to tally three doubles in one game since Corey Hart did it in 2003.

Andre Lamontagne (2-0) picked up where Luetge, who went an inning and a third of scoreless ball left off. The big right-hander bounced back from his rough outing the other day to go two scoreless innings and pick up his second win of the season for the Stars.

Robert Hinton, recently reassigned to Huntsville from Nashville, pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save of the season.

Green and Nowak tallied multi-hit games and of the Stars’ nine hits, seven of them were doubles.

With the victory, the Stars remain two games back of Tennessee for first place in the Southern League north division. They send their ace, Amaury Rivas, to the mound Saturday night as they look to take a two games to one lead in their five game set with Jacksonville. First pitch is at 6:05 p.m. central time and all the action can be heard on the Stars Radio Network.

Stars blow four-run lead, then lose in extra innings

2010-07-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

What started as a good night for the Stars turned into a disastrous one as they dropped the series opener by a score of 6-5 in 12 innings to the Jacksonville Suns Thursday.

Huntsville got some two out lightning in the first inning against Suns’ starter Jeff Allison. With two in the well, Zelous Wheeler doubled to right. Drew Anderson followed with a RBI single in the hole between first and second to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.

Chris Nowak drew a lead-off base-on-balls in the second inning. Taylor Green continued his torrid hitting with a single to right-center that advanced Nowak to third. One out later, Anderson De La Rosa picked up his first RBI as a Star with a sacrifice fly to center field.

The 2-0 lead got cut in half in the bottom of the second when Lee Mitchell took Stars’ starter Michael Bowman deep to right field for a solo homer.

It seemed like the Stars grabbed control of the game in the third. Brett Lawrie started things with a triple, his league-leading 12th of the year. After Caleb Gindl walked, Wheeler hit a hard grounder and was robbed of a base hit. Instead it was a double play, but Lawrie scored to make the score 3-1. Anderson followed with his fourth homer of the year to extend the lead to 4-1.

They’d add an insurance run in the fifth. With one away, Wheeler smoked a ground-rule double. Then with two outs, Nowak came up huge as he grounded a single up the middle, driving in Wheeler and giving the Stars a 5-1 lead.

Bowman was excellent as he went six innings, giving up only three hits and one run. He walked two and struck-out six in the effort.

But it would not be enough for the “W” as the bullpen imploded in the seventh. New pitcher Andre Lamontagne was greeted rudely with a Matt Dominguez double. One out later, Lamontagne issued back-to-back walks to load the bases. Jeff Corsaletti made Lamontagne pay for his wildness as he singled in two to make the score 5-3. Nick Green entered the game and immediately walked the first man he faced to reload the bases. After Brandon Tripp struck-out, former Star Vinny Rottino tied things up with a single to left.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Suns threatened against Stars’ reliever Jim Henderson. With one away, Corsaletti reached on a two-base throwing error by Zelous Wheeler. A ground-ball to second moved him to third base. But Henderosn struck-out Tripp to get out of the jam and send the game to extra innings.

Eddie Morlan would surrender the winning run in the bottom of the 12th as he walked pinch hitter Elih Villanueva, who happens to be a starting pitcher, with the bases loaded to end the game.

It’s the fourth loss in a row for the Stars and they fall two games back of the Smokies in the north division.

The game featured both benches clearing when the Suns kept brushing back Michael Bowman at the plate. Suns’ reliever Dan Jennings was ejected for throwing a pitch behind Bowman.

Mark Rogers will head to the mound Friday night. Tune to the Stars Radio Network beginning at 5:50pm central time for the Window World Pre-Game Report.

Stars blitzed by Diamond Jaxx

2010-07-20T02:40:00.001-07:00

By Aaron Morse

It got ugly early and stayed that way for the Huntsville Stars (46-49, 13-12) in their 12-5 defeat at the hands of the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (48-46, 9-16) Monday night.

In the second inning, Nate Tenbrink led off with an infield single off Stars’ starter Josh Butler. After Joe Dunigan walked, Carlos Triunfel tried to bunt the runners over, but Butler was able to get the lead runner at third base. Unfortunately that proved to be irrelevant as Butler walked Brandon Haveman to load the bases. That’s when Matt Lawson unloaded on a pitch up in the zone for a grand slam and his second homer in as many games.

They would pour it on from there as Butler (3-5) had his worst outing of the season, lasting only four innings, giving up 10 hits, nine runs (eight earned), as he walked three and struck-out two.

The Stars’ defense did not help matters as they made four errors in the contest. Meanwhile, the offense pounded out 13 hits, but left 12 men stranded, and was only 4-17 with men in scoring position.

The game got so ugly that the Stars brought in position players Chuck Caufield and Andy Machado to pitch. They each tossed a scoreless inning and Caufield was able to strike-out “Futures Game” participants Alex Liddi and Carlos Peguero in order.

Huntsville’s offense finally got going in the ninth inning. Back-to-back singles from Lee Haydel and Brett Lawrie started the inning. Two outs later Drew Anderson tallied his second RBI of the night as he singled home Haydel. Chris Howak followed with a RBI single of his own. Taylor Green continued his recent hot streak at the plate as he doubled home Anderson and Nowak to make the score 12-5.

That’s all the Stars would get though as Steven Hensley (7-7) picked up the win with 6.1 strong innings. Lawrie, Nowak, Haydel, and Anderson tallied multi-hit games for the Stars. Meanwhile, seven different players had multi-hit games for the Diamond Jaxx.

The teams combined for 28 hits, but the runs column was all West Tenn. The loss puts the Stars in a three-way tie for first place in the SL North with Carolina and Tennessee. They’ll look to salvage a split of the four-game set Tuesday afternoon as they send Michael Fiers to the mound in the finale. Tune in on huntsvillestars.com beginning at 12:45 p.m. central time for the Window World Pre-Game Report.

Ninth inning a black hole for Stars

2010-07-19T14:04:00.001-07:00

By Aaron Morse

The West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (47-46, 8-16) scored six runs in the top of the ninth to stun the Huntsville Stars (46-48, 13-11) by a final score of 7-3 Sunday afternoon.

Neither starting pitcher factored in the decision as Mauricio Robles of the Diamond Jaxx left the game with an undisclosed an injury after two innings. Meanwhile the Stars’ Amaury Rivas tossed three no-hit innings before the teams had to sit through an hour-long rain delay, which meant the end of his outing.

Huntsville took the early lead thanks to a Taylor Green solo home run in the second inning. It’s Green’s second homer in as many games. They’d tack on two more in the third due to a RBI single from Zelous Wheeler and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Green. With his two RBI night, Green holds the team lead at 52.

Andre Lamontagne replaced Rivas after the rain delay and was excellent, going four innings, surrendering a lone run on two hits. He struck-out four and did not walk anyone.

Alex Liddi smacked a solo homer in the seventh to make the score 3-1, but all seemed to still be in control for the Stars.

Eddie Morlan worked a scoreless eighth, but Jim Henderson came undone in the ninth.

In an attempt to pick up his seventh save, Henderson instead handed the Diamond Jaxx the game. He walked Liddi to start the inning, and after striking-out the dangerous Carlos Peguero, walked Guillermo Quiroz as well. Scott Savastano followed with a sharp single to left, loading the bases. Back-to-back walks issued to Joe Dunigan and Johan Limonta tied the game. Then a sacrifice fly off the bat of Brandon Haveman gave West Tenn the lead.

That was it for Henderson as the Stars called upon position player Patrick Arlis to try and get the final out. He would do so but only after giving up a three-run homer to Matthew Lawson as the Diamond Jaxx put the game out of reach.

With the loss, the Stars drop into a tie with Carolina for the top spot in the SL North in the second half.

Stars use a huge sixth inning to smash the Diamond Jaxx

2010-07-17T19:53:00.001-07:00

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (13-10, 46-47) scored seven runs in the sixth inning on their way to a 13-6 victory over the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx (7-16, 46-46) Saturday night.

The top of the order got things going in the first as Brett Lawrie and Caleb Gindl tallied back-to-back singles against Diamond Jaxx starter Blake Beavan. A Zelous Wheeler fly ball to deep center moved them up 90 feet. After Drew Anderson was hit by a pitch, Chris Nowak picked up a RBI when he grounded in to a fielder’s choice. With runners at the corners and two away, Taylor Green came up large with a two-run double to deep left.

The second inning started just like the first, as the Stars picked up back-to-back singles. This time it was Dayton Buller with a grounder up the gut and Lee Haydel laying down a beauty of a bunt to reach base. A Brett Lawrie ground-out moved both runners up a base and Gindl smacked a sacrifice fly to score Buller and advance Haydel to third. Haydel would score on a wild pitch and the Stars had a 5-0 lead.

But West Tennessee being the power-hitting team they are, came back forcefully as Carlos Triunfel drilled a two-run homer off Chris Cody in the third.

In the fourth they continued to chip away as Alex Liddi led-off with a double to left. One out later fellow MLB Futures Game participant Carlos Peguero doubled down the right field line, plating Liddi and cutting the Stars’ lead to two.

Beavan went four innings for West Tenn., giving up five runs on six hits. He struck-out three while walking one.

Huntsville had a golden opportunity in the fifth, loading the bases against former Star (2006 and 2008) Steve Bray with no outs. Chris Nowak hit a fly ball to left that Joe Dunigan caught and gunned to the plate to nail Gindl for the double play. Bray got Green to ground out and the Stars came away empty handed.

Meanwhile Cody was excellent, going 5.2 innings and striking out a season-high nine while walking only one. He gave up three runs, all earned on five hits.

Huntsville got all the insurance they needed and then some in the sixth. With one out, Buller tripled off the glove of a hustling Dunigan, and Haydel followed with a chopper through the right side to make the score 6-3 in favor of the Stars. Lawrie flew to right for the second out of the frame.

Then, the wheels came off for Steve Bray and the Diamond Jaxx. Gindl singled to left, advancing Haydel to second. Wheeler followed with a RBI single, and advanced to second when the throw came in to third in an attempt to get Gindl, which failed as the ball got away from Liddi.

With runners at the corners and two away, West Tenn. decided to intentionally walk Anderson. That didn’t work out so well as Nowak continued his hot hitting with the Stars, drilling a double to left, clearing the bases and making the score 10-3.

But they weren’t done as Green followed that with a two-run bomb, extending the advantage to 12-3.

The Diamond Jaxx got one back against Nick Green in the eighth, but Anderson went yard to make the score 13-4 in the bottom of the frame.

Reliever Mark Willinsky gave up a couple of runs in the ninth, but West Tenn. really didn’t have a chance as he finished the 13-6 victory off with Matthew Lawson ground-out.

Everyone in the Stars’ lineup tallied a hit and every player with the exception of Chuck Caufield scored a run. Nowak and Green drove in four runs each while Haydel and Gindl tallied three hits apiece.

Cody (5-7) earned the victory while Beavan (0-1) suffered the loss. With the victory, the Stars once again take sole possession of first place in the Southern League North.

Amaury Rivas (8-5, 2.66 ERA) takes the mound Sunday afternoon against Mauricio Robles (6-5, 4.31 ERA) as it’s a battle of Southern League Mid-Season All-Stars. You can hear the action only on www.huntsvillestars.com beginning at 12:45 p.m. central time with the Window World Pre-Game Report.

Stars winning streak ends at four

2010-07-17T15:24:00.000-07:00

By Connor Shreve

The Huntsville Stars (12-10) attempt at a series sweep was foiled by strong Mississippi pitching in a 5-1 loss Friday night in Huntsville.

True to form, Stars starter Mark Rogers (4-7 3.67) struggled early with 30 pitches in the first inning. He began the frame by hitting the first batter he faced. A triple followed to score the first run of the game, then came an RBI single off the bat of off Eric Duncan. The rest of the first was up and down but Rogers picked up the final out with runners on second and third to keep the deficit at two.

Huntsville could have been down by more but cut the lead in the bottom half of the first thanks to newcomer Chris Nowak. The big right hander singled home Zelous Wheeler with two outs before the first came to a close.

The Mississippi bullpen received one insurance run in the fourth and a couple more late but didn’t need any of them, holding the Stars scoreless through the remainder of the contest. Starter Kyle Cofield was removed in the third inning and the decision went to the first man out of the M-Braves pen, Richard Sullivan (3-8 5.92) who tossed three and one third scoreless innings.

The Stars have won seven of their last nine games and look to a new series with West Tennessee, which begins Saturday night at 6:00 (CDT)

Stars take sole possession of first place

2010-07-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (12-9, 45-46) struck-out 15 times, but it didn’t matter as they stormed back to defeat the Mississippi Braves (12-9, 42-47) by a final score of 5-4 Thursday night.

With the win, the Stars take over sole possession of first place in the Southern League North Division.

The Braves got on the board with two in the second inning against Stars’ starter Michael Fiers. With one out, Michael Daniel doubled to left. It’d be the theme of the night as the Braves tallied seven doubles in the game. A ground-out moved him to third and Jesus Sucre doubled him home. Pitcher Brandon Beachy helped his own cause with a double of his own, driving in Sucre to make the score 2-0.

Speaking of Beachy, he was lights out, tossing 5 innings, giving up three hits and striking out 13, which is the most K’s any opposing pitcher has accumulated against the Stars this year.

But Huntsville was able to keep things close. In the third, Brett Lawrie led-off with a single to right. One out later, Lawrie swiped second base and advanced to third when Sucre’s throw went into center field. The mistake was costly as Zelous Wheeler hit a routine grounder to short that was enough to score Lawrie and cut the deficit to 2-1.

Unfortunately for the Stars, Mississippi got some insurance in the fourth. It was Daniel getting things started again, this time with a lead-off double. Donell Linares singled to left to move him to third. Sucre followed with a single of his own, driving in Daniel and making the score 3-1. With runners on first and second and nobody out, Beachy was unsuccessful with a sacrifice bunt attempt, as the Stars got the lead runner at third base. Luckily for them, Fiers walked Antoan Richardson to load the bases. A Luis Bolivar ground-out to Green at third plated the Braves’ fourth run of the game.

The newest Star struck back for Huntsville in the bottom of the frame. Chris Nowak drilled a solo homer to make the score 4-2.

Fiers held his own despite his counterpart’s dominance, going five innings, giving up four runs, all earned, on seven hits, walking two and striking out three.

Mississippi’s bullpen proved to be their undoing. Michael Broadway was called upon in the sixth to protect the 4-2 lead. Zelous Wheeler greeted him with a single to left. Drew Anderson grounded out and Wheeler advanced to second on the play. After Nowak walked, Taylor Green came up large with a RBI single to right; Nowak was thrown out at third on the play, but the Stars cut the deficit to 4-3. With two down, Chuck Caufield drilled a double to center, scoring Green and knotting the game at four.

While Mark Willinsky had no trouble in the sixth inning, the same cannot be said for reliever Andre Lamontagne, who walked a tightrope in his two innings of work. The Braves put runners on the corners with only one out, but he got Michael Daniel to fly into a double play to end the seventh. In the eighth, he gave up a lead-off double, yet three ground-outs later he was out of the inning.

The Stars rewarded Lamontagne’s perseverance with the go-ahead run in the eighth against Braves’ reliever Jaye Chapman. Drew Anderson reached on a lead-off base-on-balls and Nowak hit a grounder that bounced off Chapman’s glove, putting runners on first and second. Green hit into a force-out, and the Stars had runners at the corners with only one away. Unfortunately, Caufield struck-out, leaving it up to Dayton Buller. Buller smacked a sharp grounder up the middle that went off the glove of second baseman Eric Duncan for the Braves’ fourth error of the night. The play scored Anderson from third and the Stars had the go-ahead run without tallying a hit.

Jim Henderson worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save of the year and Lamontagne (1-0) picked up his first career double-A victory.

Huntsville looks for their first series sweep of the year Friday night as they send Mark Rogers (4-6, 3.52 ERA) to the mound. Tune in starting at 6:45 p.m. Central Time to the Stars Radio Network. First pitch is at 7 p.m.

Stars surge into a tie for first

2010-07-15T10:45:00.001-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Taylor Green smacked a three-run homer and the Huntsville Stars (11-9, 44-46) scored five runs in the fifth inning on their way to a 9-3 victory over the Mississippi Braves (12-8, 42-46) Wednesday night.

The win gives Huntsville a share of first place in the north division with the Carolina Mudcats. It’s the first time all year the Stars have been on top of the standings.

Huntsville grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first against Braves’ starter Tom Gustafson. With one away, Lee Haydel doubled down the right field line. After Zelous Wheeler walked, Gustafson got the second out of the inning by striking out Drew Anderson. But his wildness hurt him when he proceeded to also walk Steffan Wilson. With Green at the plate, a passed ball allowed Haydel to score from third.

Mississippi took advantage of some sloppy defense to take the lead in the third against Stars’ starter Josh Butler. Jesus Sucre blooped a single to shallow center. Two outs later, Butler issued a free pass to Alejandro Machado. After a wild pitch moved both runners up 90 feet, Eric Duncan hit a slow chopper to second base. Brett Lawrie charged hard, but had a hard time getting the ball out of his glove. He airmailed the rushed throw, allowing two runs to score as the Braves went up 2-1. A Mauro Gomez RBI double down the line gave them a 3-1 edge.

All three runs were unearned and Butler was excellent again, going 5.2 innings giving up four hits and striking out five while walking four. It’s his third straight start without surrendering an earned run.

The Stars’ big fifth inning started innocently enough with two straight outs. Gustafson struck-out Haydel swinging, but the pitch was wild and Haydel hustled to first safely. A wild pitch advanced him to second and Zelous Wheeler drove him in with a single to left. On the throw to the plate, Wheeler moved to second base. He’d score on a Drew Anderson RBI single and the game was tied.

After Steffan Wilson walked, Green unloaded on an off-speed pitch for his fifth homer of the year.

The 6-3 lead was more than enough for the Stars’ pitching staff, but just for good measure the Stars tacked on one in the seventh thanks to a Donell Linares error on a grounder off the bat of Dayton Buller that scored Wilson from third.

In the eighth, a RBI single from Wilson and a Green sacrifice fly extended the lead to 9-3.

That’s how the game would end as Eddie Morlan, Nick Green, and Robert Hinton combined to toss 3.1 shutout innings in relief of Butler (3-4) who picked up the win. The game marks the end of the Braves’ seven-game winning streak.

Huntsville puts on a show as the North beats the South in the All-Star Game

2010-07-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Huntsville hasn’t hosted the All-Star game since 1986, but they more than made up for lost time Monday night.

A daring magician putting swords down his throat in front of a captive audience and multiple skydivers landing on the outfield grass before the game got things off to a rousing start.

Then the rain held off, making it a great night for baseball. The energetic crowd of 7782 watched the North Division All-Stars knock off the South by a final score of 3-2.

The North was shut down by South starter Tom Koehler in the first, but made the necessary adjustments in the second. Southern League RBI leader Corey Smith drew a leadoff walk. Another category leader, Dave Sappelt, showed why he’s tops in the SL in batting average with a double to center.

With runners on second and third, the Tennessee Smokies’ players made themselves known thanks to back-to-back singles from Robinson Chirinos and Blake Lalli. The RBI base knocks made the score 2-0 in favor of the North.

Michael Bowman represented Huntsville well as he entered in the third and tossed a perfect frame, striking out one.

The score remained 2-0 until the fifth when former Florida Marlins’ first round draft pick Matt Dominguez took Jon Huber deep for a solo shot.

The North responded to the long ball with a run of their own. With two away in the bottom of the frame, Tony Campana singled off reliever Miguel Socolovich. After Jake Kahaulelio drew a walk, Johan Limonta came up big with a single to right to drive in Campana and extend the lead to 3-1.

Dominguez wasn’t done impressing the many scouts on-hand as he drilled a solo homer in the seventh off Anthony Varvaro.

The last stand for the South in the ninth started off well when Kenley Jansen hit the leadoff man. One out later, Dominguez reached on an infield single. But Jansen got a big “K” for the second out. The last hope for the South came to the plate in the form of Mauro Gomez. He bounced to third for the final out of the game as Jansen nailed down the save.

Dominguez earned All-Star game MVP despite his team suffering the loss. Since the game switched to the North-South format in 2005, the North is now 6-0. Joshua Collmenter of the BayBears got credited for the win, which is odd because Mobile is in the South Division. But he got the start because the North was short on pitching. Meanwhile Tom Koehler took the loss for the South. The only other Huntsville Star to make an appearance besides Bowman was Brett Lawrie, perhaps a bit jet-lagged after participating in the XM Futures Game the night before, he struck-out in his lone AB.

After the narrow win, the Stars’ organization celebrated the North’s victory and the great show put on overall with a grand finale of fireworks.

After an off day on Tuesday, the Stars get back to work Wednesday when they take on the Mississippi Braves at “The Joe” beginning at 7:00 p.m. central time. You can hear the action on www.huntsvillestars.com.

Stars get strong pitching and hitting in win over Lookouts

2010-07-10T03:17:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Mark Rogers went five shutout innings, Brett Lawrie drove in three runs, and the Huntsville Stars (9-9, 42-46) knocked off the Chattanooga Lookouts (10-8, 43-44) by a final score of 8-2 Friday night.

Rogers helped his own cause as he doubled with one away in the third inning. Then with two down, Caleb Gindl drilled a double to center, plating Rogers and giving the Stars a 1-0 lead.

They got to Chattanooga starter Mario Alvarez again the very next inning. With one away, Alvarez didn’t help himself as he committed a throwing error, allowing Lee Haydel to reach safely. After Dayton Buller drew a walk, Rogers grounded out, moving both runners up 90 feet. The Stars were the beneficiaries of two-out lightning as Lawrie delivered a two-RBI single to center.

The 3-0 lead was more than enough for the Stars’ pitching staff. Rogers (4-6) was dominant, surrendering only a lone infield single in his five innings of work. He walked three and struck-out seven along the way to picking up the win.

The Stars got some insurance in the seventh against Chattanooga’s bullpen. New pitcher James Adkins replaced Alvarez, who only gave up one earned run in his six innings of work. Adkins retired the first batter he faced, but gave up a single to Gindl and proceeded to walk Drew Anderson. Zelous Wheeler followed with a single up the gut to score Gindl and make the score 4-0. A walk loaded the bases and Steffan Wilson hit the ball deep enough into the outfield to score Anderson and give the Stars a 5-0 lead.

Huntsville wasn’t done though. In the eighth, pinch hitter Juan Sanchez reached on an error. Lawrie doubled him home for his third RBI of the day. Then with two outs, Anderson connected for a mammoth two-run homer, extending the lead to 8-0.

Eddie Morlan worked two scoreless innings of relief. Nick Green did have his issues, as he gave up a couple of runs in the eighth, but he worked a scoreless ninth to finish the game off.

The Stars look to take the season series Saturday evening as it will be the last time the two teams meet this year. Huntsville is 10-9 against Chattanooga so far and they’ll send Lucas Luetge (1-0, 2.30 ERA) to the mound in their effort to finish off the series right before the All-Star break. You can catch all the action on the Stars Radio Network, beginning at 6:00 p.m. central time with the Window World Pre-Game Report.

Lookouts ambush Stars

2010-07-10T02:11:00.001-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Corey Smith drove in four runs and Jaime Pedroza drove in three as the Chattanooga Lookouts (10-7, 43-43) ran over the Huntsville Stars (8-9, 41-46) by a score of 11-2 Thursday night.

The Lookouts jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first against Stars’ starter Michael Bowman. Back-to-back walks issued to Trayvon Robinson and Jerry Sands set up Smith, who showed why he’s the Southern League’s RBI leader as he blasted a three-run homer to left.

Walks were the story of the night for Bowman as he issued a season-high seven in his six innings of work.

Huntsville got two runs back in the fifth as Andy Machado walked, Chuck Caufield singled and Dayton Buller delivered a two-RBI double.

But after that it was all Lookouts as they got to Bowman for three more runs in the sixth inning. Two consecutive walks started the inning. Andrew Lambo, Jaime Pedroza, and Kyle Russell smacked three straight singles to make the score 6-2.

The Lookouts kept the attack going with three runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth against Stars’ reliever Mark Willinsky.

Bowman (7-8) took the loss while Brent Leach (4-1) picked up the win with six innings of work.

The Stars managed only four hits on the night while the Lookouts picked up 10. Smith, Pedroza, and Dee Gordon tallied multi-hit games for Chattanooga.

Stars overpower Lookouts

2010-07-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Steffan Wilson delivered a two-out three-run home run in the sixth as the Huntsville Stars (8-8, 41-45) took the lead for good in an 8-2 victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts (9-7, 42-23) Wednesday morning.

The victory made a winner out of Michael Fiers (1-0) in his Double A debut. The right-hander went six innings, scattering six hits as he gave up two runs. Fiers walked two and struck-out five in the victory.

The Stars put a run across against Chattanooga starter Bobby Blevins in the third. With one away, Brett Lawrie drew a walk. Caleb Gindl singled to right and the aggressive Lawrie advanced to third on the play. That set up Drew Anderson nicely and he came through with a sacrifice fly to center.

The Lookouts took the lead back in the bottom of the frame. With two out and a man on first, Jerry Sands singled to left. After Corey Smith was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, Andrew Lambo singled to right, driving in two runs and giving Chattanooga the 2-1 edge.

Their lead lasted until the fateful sixth inning. Gindl got things going with a single to right. One out later Zelous Wheeler was hit by a pitch. That would be it for Blevins (1-1), who went 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits. He walked one and struck-out seven.

New pitcher David Pfeiffer got Taylor Green to pop out, but Wilson stepped to the plate and on a 1-1 pitch crushed a ball up in the zone way out of the yard in deep left field to give the Stars a 4-2 lead. It was Wilson’s sixth homer of the 2010 campaign.

They’d do more damage in the eighth and ninth.

With one on and one away in the eighth, Taylor Green took Pfeiffer deep to dead center field for his fourth bomb of the year. Then in the ninth, they got two runs off reliever Justin Miller thanks to a RBI double by Drew Anderson and a RBI single off the bat of Green.

Meanwhile the Stars’ bullpen was as strong as ever. Robert Hinton worked two scoreless innings and Donovan Hand finished things off with a solid ninth inning to preserve the win.

The Lookouts left 11 runners on base as the Stars were able to get the outs when they needed to. Green, Zelous Wheeler, and Gindl tallied multi-hit games while Lawrie and Wheeler each scored two runs. Green and Wilson had three RBI apiece, and Anderson knocked in two.

The victory moves the Stars to within one game of first place in the SL standings. They’ll look to win their fourth straight Thursday evening as they send Michael Bowman (7-7, 5.82) to the mound to face Brent Leach (3-1, 5.75). You can catch all the action on the Stars Radio Network beginning at 6:00 pm central time with the Window World Pre-Game Report.

Huntsville’s starters heating up in the summer months

2010-07-06T17:50:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Normally as the weather gets hotter, hitters really get into the swing of things. But for the Huntsville Stars, it’s been their starting pitching in recent weeks that has stood-out thanks to a series of impressive performances.

In the recent series against Chattanooga and Tennessee, Huntsville’s starters went a combined 4-1 with a 1.29 ERA. The team itself has been up and down, going 5-4 during that time span.

For the starting pitching it’s been quite the hot streak, something the Stars hope can be maintained as the second-half of the SL season rolls along.

Josh Butler epitomizes the turnaround. The former second round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2006 draft has moved quickly up the Brewers’ farm system since being acquired in a trade for Gabe Gross in April of 2008.

Last year he started the season in High-A Brevard County and ended it in “The Show” where he made three appearances, all out of the bullpen.

“It was awesome, it was a dream come true,” Butler said. “It’s more than words can say; it was everything I hoped for and more.”

An impingement in his elbow prevented him from starting 2010 in Double or Triple-A as he was supposed to do; so it was off to Brevard County for a rehab assignment.

The 25-year old right hander was hit hard there before coming to Huntsville and throwing four shutout innings in his first outing with the Stars.

But he dropped his next three starts, giving up four runs each time and walking eight batters in 15 innings. Even when he pitched well, such as a June 19 win over Montgomery, his control remained an issue as he walked five batters in 5.2 innings despite not giving up a run.

All of a sudden though in his last two starts it’s like he’s flipped the switch and he’s looked too good for Double-A. Butler’s only walked two batters in his last 13 innings of work and has not surrendered an earned run in his last two outings.

“Over the last couple starts I’ve been feeling a lot better,” Butler said. “My velocity has been getting back up there and my control has been a lot better than how I started off this year, and the combination of the two has put me where I am now.”

It’s not like he’s been doing it against cupcake lineups either. Chattanooga and Tennessee are two of the three top run-producing offenses in the league, and Butler was able to shut both of them down.

“Focusing on my two-seam fastball, making sure I get the sink on it (is important),” Butler said. “With that comes the sharpness on my breaking pitches, and that should carry me back to where I was last year.”

Amazingly, Butler does not own the most dominating performance during the recent run of success.

LHP Chris Cody turned in arguably the best pitching performance of the year in a July 2 win over Chattanooga. He went eight shutout innings, matching staff ace Amaury Rivas for the longest pitching performance of the year for the Stars. He struck-out eight, the most batters he’s whiffed this year, while only walking two and surrendering four hits.

It seemingly came out of nowhere. Cody, 26, entered the game coming off one of his worst outings of the year as he gave up seven runs in 3.1 innings against Jacksonville on June 26.

In response, pitching coach John Curtis suggested a key adjustment prior to the game that might just help the lefty turn his season around.

“Before the game started Coach Curtis and I spoke about what we can do differently than in previous outings,” Cody said. “(He suggested) the use of the cutter.”

Primarily, Cody uses a two-seam fast ball to try and locate low in the zone.

“For whatever reason that hasn’t been working for me lately, so I went in and changed it up; I used my cut fast ball as my primary weapon,” Cody said. “It kept them off-balance, made them a little uneasy and that made all the other pitches that much more effective.”

Cody’s experienced success at the Southern League level before as he went 5-1 with a 2.30 ERA last year for the Stars. He says that he hopes his most recent start can be a springboard to a turnaround this season. He’s recently been placed on the temporary inactive list, but when he returns he’ll continue to be a key to the Stars’ success in the second half.

Hard-throwing right-hander Mark Rogers and Southern League Mid-Season All-Star Amaury Rivas probably have the most potential for long major league careers among the Stars’ starters.

Rogers, 24, a former first round draft pick by the Brewers, has battled injuries over the years. But his velocity is back up this year; it’s only been a matter of getting his control in line. He walked five against Tennessee on July 4, but you can get away with that when the opposition only manages one hit. Moving forward, Rogers, who generally only goes five innings, needs to figure out a way to avoid slow starts. His ERA in the first inning sits at 7.20, compared to his season ERA, which is 3.78.

Rivas, 24, has been as dominating as usual in recent weeks, tossing a complete game (seven innings) shutout June 30 against Chattanooga and beating the Smokies for the second time this year on July 5. He’s been Mr. Consistency; his ERA has only been over 3.00 in one start this year, and he currently sits at eighth in the Southern League with a 2.66 ERA in 2010.

23-year old Lucas Luetge, recently promoted from Brevard County, got a spot start during the two most recent series and only gave up one earned run. Meanwhile Michael Bowman, 23, was the only starter really to suffer a hiccup, surrendering four earned runs in 5.1 innings of work July 3 against Chattanooga. But even Bowman’s start is a little deceiving. His first five innings were excellent, as he only gave up one run, but in the sixth inning things unraveled a bit as the Lookouts scored three to take the lead.

Can the Stars’ starters’ recent success continue? It won’t be easy. They face a red-hot Chattanooga squad for four games before the All-Star break. Recently promoted Michael Fiers takes the hill on Wednesday and Bowman will look to join the run of dominating performances on Thursday. After that Rogers and Rivas will look to help the Stars get their second consecutive series win. Fans won’t see Butler or Cody until after the All-Star break. The other question that will have to be answered is who loses their spot in the rotation once Alex Periard, who has been very consistent this year, comes off the DL? Promotions for Butler and Rivas remain a distinct possibility as well.

There’s still a lot of work to be done if the Stars want to make a run to the Southern League Play-Offs, but recent returns from the starting rotation should give fans a lot of hope.

Butler does it again, gets rewarded with win

2010-07-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Josh Butler (2-4) scattered five hits over seven innings of shutout baseball as the Huntsville Stars (7-8, 40-45) knocked off the Tennessee Smokies (8-7, 50-34) by a final score of 3-0 in Tuesday’s rubber match of their three game set.

For Butler it was his third outing in his last four trips to the mound where he did not surrender an earned run. Last time out he took a no-decision as the Stars lost in 15 innings to the Lookouts.

Tuesday was different. He did not have a 1-2-3 inning until the fifth, but the Smokies left six men on base and the Stars turned three double plays behind him on defense. For awhile he was going toe to toe with Smokies’ starter Craig Muschko, who tossed five shutout innings of his own.

Once Muschko left the game, the Stars’ offense finally pushed a run across in the sixth against reliever Jeremy Papelbon (1-1). Brett Lawrie, who became the first player in the SL this year to reach 100 hits as he went 2-5 today, tallied hit number 101 with a lead-off single to left. Caleb Gindl followed with a single of his own.

One out later the Stars showed off some of their trademark aggressiveness as they pulled off a double steal. The move turned out to be huge as Steffan Wilson smacked a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Lawrie and giving the Stars a 1-0 lead.

Butler worked around a lead-off single in the sixth and a two-out single in the seventh. His last pitch of the game was a beauty that left pinch hitter Blake Lalli standing at the station. He finished the day with six strikeouts, while he only walked two.

Huntsville feasted on the Smokies’ bullpen again in the eighth inning. Zelous Wheeler pinch hit for Butler and singled to left against new pitcher Ryan Buchter. A wild pitch advanced him to second and one out later Gindl drew a walk. Buchter suffered from more wildness as he hit Drew Anderson to load the bases.

Wilson, already with the Stars’ lone RBI of the day singled to left, plating Wheeler and Gindl and extending the Stars’ lead to 3-0.

Nick Green tossed a scoreless eighth and Jim Henderson picked up his second save in as many nights and fifth on the year with a perfect ninth inning.

With the win the Stars take two of three from the Smokies and improve to 6-7 on the year against the Cubs’ affiliate. It marks the Stars’ first series victory of the second half as they dropped four of six to Jacksonville and split a six-game set with Chattanooga previously. It’s the Stars’ first series win on the road since they took four of five from Birmingham back in late April, early May.

Huntsville heads to Chattanooga Wednesday for a four-game series before the All-Star break. Set your alarms as the game starts at 10:15am central time on the Stars Radio Network.

Pitching dominates in win over Smokies

2010-07-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Amaury Rivas went six strong innings as the Huntsville Stars (6-8, 39-45) took the lead early and never looked back in a 3-1 victory over the Tennessee Smokies (8-6, 50-33) Monday night.

Brett Lawrie started the game the right way with a double to left that Tony Campana misplayed, allowing Lawrie to advance to third. After Caleb Gindl walked, Zelous Wheeler grounded out to second, scoring Lawrie and advancing Gindl to second. For Wheeler, it’s his 40th RBI of the season. With two away, Taylor Green crushed the second double of the inning for the Stars, scoring Gindl and giving them a 2-0 edge against Smokies’ starter Chris Carpenter (6-4).

Rivas (8-5) struggled a bit with his control in the bottom of the frame. With one out he walked Brett Jackson and hit Josh Vitters with a pitch. Blake Lalli made him pay as he singled home Jackson to make the score 2-1.

To say Rivas settled down would be an understatement as he subdued the hard-hitting Smokies for his six innings of work. He surrendered the lone run on three hits, walked three and struck-out three as well.

The Stars tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh against reliever Marcos Mateo. Drew Anderson led-off with a single to left. One out later Steffan Wilson reached on a throwing error by Smokies’ shortstop Marwin Gonzalez. Lee Haydel singled to load the bases and Dayton Buller came up big with a RBI base knock to extend the lead to 3-1. That’s all they would get though as pinch hitter Andy Machado struck-out and Brett Lawrie was robbed of a base hit by Josh Vitters for the final out of the inning.

Donovan Hand retired all six batters he faced as he tossed a scoreless seventh and eighth.

Jim Henderson worked a scoreless ninth for his fourth save of the year.

The Stars look to win the three-game series Tuesday as they play a morning game so set your alarms as first pitch is at 11:00 am central time. You can tune in only on www.huntsvillestars.com beginning at 10:45 am with the Window World Pre-Game Report. Josh Butler (1-4, 3.93 ERA) will be on the mound.

Stars fall victim to walk-off blast on Independence Day

2010-07-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse
Robinson Chirinos hit a three-run homer off Eddie Morlan in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Tennessee Smokies (8-5, 50-32) to a 6-3 win over the Huntsville Stars (5-8, 38-45) on Independence Day.
It was the Smokies who got on the board first when Stars’ starter Mark Rogers struggled with his control in the first inning. The hard-throwing right hander walked the first two batters of the game before bouncing back to strike-out Matthew Spencer. A wild pitch moved both runners up 90 feet and Stars’ killer Blake Lalli singled to left to score Tony Campana.
Rogers settled down despite walking another batter in the first and five in the game. The Lalli single would be the only offense the Smokies could muster as he went five innings, giving up the lone run and striking out six.
Lucas Luetge relieved Rogers in the sixth and surrendered a run on a bizarre play. With one away Josh Vitters singled and Brandon Guyer doubled. Luetge struck out Nate Sampson, only to have the ball bounce away from Dayton Buller and Vitters came in to make the score 2-0. The Stars argued that the ball had gone off the bat of Sampson to no avail.
Tony Thomas gave Tennessee some insurance with a solo blast to lead-off the seventh.
The Stars mounted a furious rally against reliever Aaron Shafer in the eighth. Back-to-back singles from Caleb Gindl and Zelous Wheeler set up Drew Anderson with a RBI opportunity. The powerful lefty did not disappoint as he doubled to center to score both runners. Taylor Green bunted him to third and Steffan Wilson drove him home with a ground-out.
With the game tied, the Stars called upon Morlan who tossed a scoreless eighth. But the ninth inning did not go as well as Tony Thomas doubled with one away. With two away, the Stars walked Lalli to set up a play at any base. The move back-fired when Chirinos went yard to end the game.
The Stars will try to even the series as they send Amaury Rivas to the mound Monday night. Join us on the Stars Radio Network beginning at 6pm central time with the Window World Pre-Game Report.

Stars' rally falls short

2010-07-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Huntsville Stars (5-7, 38-44) scored four runs in the seventh inning to draw within one, but left the tying run in scoring position in the ninth as they dropped the series finale to the Chattanooga Lookouts (8-4, 42-40) by a final score of 7-6.
The Lookouts got to Michael Bowman in the second inning as Corey Smith led-off with a double; two outs later Jaime Pedroza singled him home.
But the Stars bounced back in the bottom of the frame thanks to an unexpected power source. Drew Anderson picked up where he left off on Friday with a single up the middle. Two outs later, Andy Machado crushed a ball over the left field fence for his first homer of the year.
The 2-1 lead held up for Michael Bowman (7-7) until the top of the sixth. Trayvon Robinson tied things up with a homer to left but the Lookouts didn’t stop there. One out later Corey Smith reached base on an excuse-me single to shallow right field. Andrew Lambo followed with a double down the left field line to put runners at second and third. Eddie Perez hit a grounder to Stefan Wilson at first; Wilson fired home but Smith beat the tag to give the Lookouts a 3-2 lead. Jaime Pedroza chased Bowman from the game with a single to center, making the score 4-2 Lookouts.
Mark Willinsky entered and got the final two outs, but he suffered his own meltdown in the seventh. With one away Robinson got things going again with a single to center. He quickly swiped second base and advanced to third thanks to a low throw into center field from catcher Sean McCraw. Jerry Sands made the play irrelevant by blasting a two-run homer, making the score 6-2 Lookouts. Back-to-back singles from Smith and Lambo were followed by an Eddie Perez RBI double. After Willinsky intentionally walked Jaime Pedroza, Donovan Hand entered the game and coaxed a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
The 7-2 deficit seemed imposing, but the Stars rallied in the bottom of the frame. Brent Leach had been dominant all night, but he walked Anderson to lead-off the inning. Wilson walked as well and a Lee Haydel bunt moved both runners over 90 feet. Machado struck out and Leach looked like he was going to get out of the inning with no damage.
Sean McCraw had different plans. He doubled to deep right-center, scoring both runners to make the score 7-4. Justin Miller entered the game and immediately gave up a RBI single to pinch hitter Taylor Green. The throw to the plate got away from catcher Jessie Mier or else McCraw would have been out at home. Green advanced to second and scored when Caleb Gindl singled after Brett Lawrie had walked.
That made the score 7-6 and chased Miller from the game.
But the Stars couldn’t put another run across. In the ninth, Machado singled to lead-off the inning and McCraw bunted him to second. Unfortunately Taylor Green struck out and Lawrie popped out on a 3-0 pitch to end the game.

Chris Cody Stellar on the Hill

2010-07-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

The Huntsville Stars guaranteed at least a series split Friday night with a 4-1 win over Chattanooga at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville.

Drew Anderson broke a five and a half inning stalemate with a sixth inning single and his first stolen base of the season. With one out, Lee Haydel continued the hitting with a single that moved Anderson to third base. The hero of Wednesday’s double header, Andy Machado again came through for the Stars with a sac fly for the first run of the contest. Sean McCraw followed with a walk and after throwing his sixth shutout inning of the night, Chris Cody showed his offensive prowess by launching a run scoring double over the head of Lookouts right fielder Jerry Sands. Chattanooga’s relay that followed was executed to perfection to cut down McCraw at home to end the inning.

Anderson again struck one inning later with a double that scored Huntsville All Star Brett Lawrie. He then chugged home from second base on a wild pitch to extend the Stars lead to four runs.

Stars starting pitcher Chris Cody carried the offense for much of the game with his best start of the year. Cody dealt 97 pitches over eight shutout innings. Not known as a strikeout artist, Cody fanned eight lookouts and walked only two while scattering four hits. Nearly 70 percent of Cody’s throws were strikes.

Huntsville plays host Saturday in the final game at “The Joe” before the Southern League All Star game comes to Huntsville on Monday July, 12. First pitch is set for 6:00 CDT. All Stars games are streamed live online at www.huntsvillestars.com

Stars Fall in Fifteen

2010-07-02T00:23:00.000-07:00

It took five scoreless extra frames Thursday night before the Chattanooga lookouts deemed themselves worthy of victory. Chattanooga ended a ten inning scoreless streak by plating three in the fifteenth in a 4-1 win over Huntsville.

Neither starting pitcher figured in the decision, despite solid outings. Aaron Miller allowed only one Stars run, a fourth inning Zelous Wheeler home run, on five hits. He struck out five Huntsville batters. Josh Butler put together his second straight strong outing, working six complete innings. Butler struck out three while the opposition did not draw a single walk. The only run allowed was unearned.

After four Huntsville pitchers, Nick Green entered his fourth inning in the fifteenth. Jessie Mier was the first to greet him with a double which was followed with a sac bunt. Mier scored on an errant pickoff attempt by Green and the floodgates were open. Eddie Perez and Corey Smith followed with hits and scored before the inning came to a close.

Green threw 59 pitches in his trip out of the pen.
With the series tied at two games apiece, Huntsville hosts game five Friday at 7:00 CDT. All Stars games are streamed live at www.huntsvillestars.com

Twice in one day against Chattanooga…Stars walk-off as winners

2010-07-01T00:29:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Steffan Wilson went 5-6, Amaury Rivas tossed a gem in game one, and Chuckie Caufield and Andy Machado provided the late heroics as the Huntsville Stars (4-5) swept the Chattanooga Lookouts (6-3) in Wednesday’s double header.

In the first game of the twin bill, Rivas (7-5) took center stage as he threw a complete game shutout. The Lookouts managed only four hits in the seven-inning contest and Rivas walked a lone batter while striking out four.

In the bottom of the seventh, Huntsville’s to that point dormant offense came alive as Drew Anderson drew a lead-off walk. They played some small ball as Machado lay down a nice bunt that caused a throwing error from catcher Mike Rivera, putting runners at first and second with nobody out. Wilson bunted as well and managed to beat it out for an infield single, loading the bases.

After Dayton Buller struck-out, Caufield stepped to the plate, pinch hitting for Rivas. The red-hot outfielder singled in the hole between short and third, driving home Anderson to win the game.

Timothy Sexton (3-7) pitched a complete game for the Lookouts but took the loss. Meanwhile Rivas’ second complete game of the year ties him with Tom Layne of Mobile for the most in the Southern League.

Game two was not nearly as neat. Lookouts’ pitchers combined to walk 12 Stars hitters and three of the Lookouts’ four runs against the Stars were unearned.

The Stars got off to a great start, scoring two runs in the first on RBI singles from Machado and Wilson. These came after Lookouts’ starter Jordan Pratt walked the first three batters of the game.

Two of three batters Pratt walked in the first inning were Brett Lawrie and Lorenzo Cain. With two away in the second, he walked both of them again. The Stars proceeded to pull off a gutsy double steal and the throw to third base sailed into left field, allowing Lawrie to score and Cain to advance to third. Pratt walked Caleb Gindl again as well to put runners at the corners and chase him from the game. Chattanooga’s starter walked seven batters in only 1.2 innings of work.

New pitcher Justin Miller uncorked a wild pitch right away, allowing Cain to score and the Stars to extend their lead to 4-0.

But Huntsville’s sloppiness allowed the Lookouts to come back to tie the game. In the top of the fourth, Stars’ starter Lucas Luetge ran into trouble after having faced the minimum through the first three frames.
With one away, Trayvon Robinson singled to left. After a second out was recorded, Luetge uncorked a wild pitch, advancing Robinson to second base. Corey Smith, the Southern League’s RBI leader, hit a slow roller that Luetge fielded, but his throw was low and skipped past Wilson at first base. They ruled the play an infield single, with the error allowing Robinson to score and Smith to advance to second base.

He’d get out of the inning without any more damage, but wasn’t as fortunate in the fifth.

With one down, Luetge walked his first batter of the game when Jaime Pedroza drew a free pass. Jessie Mier followed with a sharp single up the middle. It appeared Luetge would get out of the inning unscathed when pinch hitter Eddie Perez hit a tailor-made double play ball to Machado at short, but the veteran infielder bobbled the ball and everyone was safe. A wild pitch made it 4-2 and with two away Trayvon Robinson delivered the big blow with a two RBI single to left, evening the score at four.

That was the end of the day for Luetge, who went 4.2 innings, giving up four runs, only one of which was earned, on five hits. He walked one and struck-out three in the no-decision.

Eddie Morlan came on and got Jerry Sands to fly-out to Gindl in right to end the inning.

Lookouts’ reliever Eric Krebs gave up a lead-off double to Wilson in the fifth and walked Andy Machado with one away, but he worked out of the jam thanks to a well-timed double play ball hit by Sean McCraw.

Krebs really got rolling in the sixth when he struck-out Anderson, Lawrie, and Cain in succession.

Meanwhile for the Stars, Jim Henderson replaced Morlan to pitch the top of the seventh and walked the lead-off man. But after striking-out the next batter, he was the beneficiary of an awful bunt attempt by Krebs that went straight up in the air. The runner was going on the pitch so Henderson calmly got the ball and jogged to the first base bag to turn the unassisted double play.

Huntsville finally got to Krebs in the bottom of the seventh as with one out he hit Zelous Wheeler. Wilson followed that with the 11th Stars’ walk of the contest to put runners at first and second. Haydel loaded the bases by slapping a single to left.

That’s when Andy Machado redeemed himself. He’d made the crucial error back in the fifth, but against Krebs he drew the 12th walk of the game, driving in Wheeler and the Stars quite literally walked off with the win.

Huntsville looks take game four of the six game set Thursday night as they’ll send Josh Butler (1-4, 4.70) to the mound. You can hear all the action starting at 6:45 pm central time with the Window World Pre-Game Report on the Stars Radio Network.

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

2010-06-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars Fall At Home To Lookouts

2010-06-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars fall to Suns in rain-shortened affair

2010-06-27T15:04:00.001-07:00

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.

Suns hold off Stars

2010-06-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

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.

Hunstville Stars Win Late In Jacksonville

2010-06-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars start second half splendidly

2010-06-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars Win Second Straight

2010-06-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars drop eighth consecutive series

2010-06-17T08:39:00.001-07:00

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.

Stars Fall in Scorcher Sunday Afternoon

2010-06-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars fall victim to the walk-off homer

2010-06-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

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.

Pitchers Duel Tilts Toward Stars

2010-06-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

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.

Cody shines as Stars edge Mudcats

2010-06-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars Offense Limited in Loss to Smokies

2010-06-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars shutout by Smokies

2010-06-08T22:22:00.001-07:00

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.

Stars earn comeback win over Smokies

2010-06-07T21:03:00.001-07:00

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.

Stars Outlast Smokies

2010-06-06T18:49:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-06T02:06:00.001-07:00

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.

Stars fall victim to the big inning

2010-06-05T23:39:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars make six errors in loss to BayBears

2010-06-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

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.

Stars’ offense explodes as they romp Mobile

2010-06-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

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.

Late Runs Not Enough

2010-05-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

by Connor Shreve

The Huntsville Stars heroic rally fell one run short amidst Memorial Day celebrations at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville in an 8-7 loss to the Mobile Bay Bears. The loss drops the Stars three games under .500 with a record of 24-27.

Stars Starter Alex Periard (2-4 4.53) proved to be his own worst enemy in the first, walking four Bay Bears batters. After a Colin Cowgill leadoff double, the first two walks were issued to Evan Frey and Kory Casto which loaded the bases for Konrad Schmidt. The catcher scored two with a single up the middle. Periard walked two more batters and threw a wild pitch, allowing two additional runs before a strike out and a Tom Layne double play ended the inning.

Periard did settle down to allow only four hits and one run over his next five innings. The 22 year old worked six innings, giving up seven hits and five runs while walking five Bay Bears and striking out two. Periard continued his 2010 trend of throwing at least five innings in every one of his starts this season. His counterpart however received the offensive support he needed in throwing 100 pitches over five innings for the win. The only blemish on Tom Layne’s (6-2 3.15) line is a Lorenzo Cain home run that departed The Joe over the left field fences in the first inning.

The Stars waited until the bottom of the eighth to start their ill fated rally. Mobile reliever Kyler Newby began his outing by firing a ball off the helmet of Zelous Wheeler. Drew Anderson and Martin Maldonado both added singles to bookend a Lee Haydel pop out. Seventh inning defensive substitution Taylor Green picked the right time to send a ball out of the park. His first home run of the year, and the Stars first grand slam brought Huntsville to within one run and set up the defining play of the game, a play at the plate on Brett Lawrie.

The Stars second baseman singled and moved to third on a Cain base hit. Cain stole second and when Mobile short stop Jake Wald bobbled the throw, Lawrie dashed for home. Schmidt’s block of the plate forced Lawrie’s slide to the foul side of the diamond and his tag on the base runners left foot came in time, according to home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott. Huntsville’s youngster was instantly thrown out of the ballgame for throwing his helmet up the third base line in showing his displeasure at the call; manager Mike Guerrero joined him in the clubhouse moments later.

Mobile and Huntsville added to the tension with two runs a piece in the final inning.

Huntsville will try to start the month of June on the right foot Tuesday night in game two of the current series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (CDT) and, as always it can be streamed live at www.huntsvillestars.com

Stars beat the rain and the Barons

2010-05-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

A wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth scored Brett Lawrie and the rains came right after that as the Huntsville Stars (24-26) beat the Birmingham Barons (17-32) by a final score of 6-5 in six innings Sunday afternoon.

On a cloudy day at “The Joe”, the Stars took the early lead in the bottom of the first against Barons’ starter Charles Shirek. Brett Lawrie, batting lead-off, singled to start the game. A Caleb Gindl ground-out moved Lawrie to second and with two away Mat Gamel singled him home for the 1-0 advantage.

Lawrie would be in the thick of things in the second inning. With one away Lee Haydel drew a walk. After Martin Maldonado singled, Lawrie crushed his league-leading eighth triple of the year to clear the bases. Lorenzo Cain followed that up with a RBI single and the Stars grabbed a 4-0 lead.

Josh Butler, on a rehab assignment from the Brewers, pitched four shutout innings to start the game. He scattered four hits, walked one, and struck-out three.

Chris Cody, normally a starter, was called upon to pitch the fifth inning. It did not go well as the Barons loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. With two away and the bases juiced, Christian Marrero singled to right to drive in two and chase Cody from the game. Jim Henderson entered and got the final out of the frame.

The Stars extended the lead to 5-2 on a Haydel RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.

But in the top of the sixth Henderson could not find the strike zone as he walked the first two hitters of the inning. Robert Hinton relieved him and walked the first man he faced to load the bases. A fielder’s choice got the runner at second, but allowed a run to score. Back-to-back singles off the bats of Jim Gallagher and Brent Morel tied the game at five. Hinton got a fly-out and a ground-out to end the inning with no further damage.

With the rains threatening in the bottom of the sixth, Martin Maldonado was hit by a pitch by new pitcher Tyson Corley. Lawrie reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second base as Cain struck-out. Caleb Gindl drew a walk and Corley uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Lawrie to advance to third. Then another wild pitch from Corley brought Lawrie home and gave the Stars a 6-5 lead.

The inning would end without any further runs crossing the plate, but at that point the skies opened and the rain forced them to go into a delay. After awhile, the game was declared over and the Stars got a much-needed win.

Hinton (1-2) got the win while Corley (0-3) suffered the loss. Lawrie had a huge day, going 2-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. The Stars gain ½ a game on the Smokies, who were rained out, so Huntsville is now 5.5 games out of first.

Huntsville hosts Mobile Monday in a 4pm start. Alex Periard will take the mound.

Stars slammed by Barons

2010-05-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Sometimes one swing of the bat can be the difference in a game.

That was certainly the case Saturday night as Salvador Sanchez’s grand slam home run was the reason the Huntsville Stars (33-36) lost to the Birmingham Barons (17-31) by a final score of 4-2.

Early on, it was the Stars who looked to be in control.

With one away in the first, Lee Haydel found a hole on the right side for a single. Brett Lawrie grounded out, but on the play Haydel moved into scoring position. After Mat Gamel walked, Zelous Wheeler smoked a single up the gut to drive in Haydel and give the Stars a 1-0 lead.

They’d strike again in the second. Drew Anderson continued to rake as he doubled to start the frame. One out later Martin Maldonado hit a grounder to short and Birmingham’s Robbie Hudson attempted to get Anderson going to third, but the throw hit Anderson in the back and everyone was safe. That’s when Lorenzo Cain came up huge with a base knock to right and the Stars had a nice 2-0 advantage.

But the lead would be short lived. With two outs and a runner on fist, Stars starter Amaury Rivas walked back-to-back hitters. The lack of control came back to burn him when Sanchez unloaded on a pitch for a grand slam to give the Barons a 4-2 edge.

Rivas (5-3) pitched well, going 7 innings, scattering 5 hits, and giving up 4 runs, while walking 3 and striking out 6. But he took the loss due to the one mistake to Sanchez.

The Stars’ offense could get nothing going all night, as their last 10 hitters in the game were retired in order by Barons pitching.

Zelous Wheeler had a good day at the plate, going 3-4 with a RBI. Lorenzo Cain also had a multi-hit game, as he was 2-5 with a RBI.

Jhonny Nunez (1-4) earned his first win of the year, going 5 innings scattering 6 hits, while giving up 2 runs, only 1 of which was earned.

Anthony Carter pitched the ninth inning to pick up his fifth save of the year.

With the loss, the Stars lose the series and fall to six games back of the Tennessee Smokies in the North Division.

The finale of the five-game set is Sunday afternoon. Tune to www.huntsvillestars.com starting at 12:45 pm central time for all the action. Alex Periard (2-3, 4.18 ERA) will be on the mound for the Stars.

Stars attempt late comeback, but fall short against Barons

2010-05-28T21:18:00.001-07:00

By Connor Shreve

The Huntsville Stars trailed the entire way on Friday en-route to an 8-6 loss to the Birmingham Barons at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville. After splitting the series opening double header on Thursday, Birmingham leads the five game series two games to one.
The visitors jumped to an early lead with two runs in the first inning. A passed ball charged to Martin Maldonado allowed the Barons’ Dale Mollenhauer to second after a leadoff single. Brent Morel and Christian Marerro followed with back to back RBI base hits scoring Marerro and Jim Gallagher, who was aboard thanks to a one out walk.
Chris Errecart doubled home Mat Gamel in the second to get Huntsville to within one run but the Stars best early chances to even the score died on the base paths. In the third frame, Maldonado and Lorenzo Cain were victimized by a strike him out, throw him out double play. Second baseman Brett Lawrie was caught trying to stretch a leadoff double in to three bases with a perfect relay in the fourth inning.
Stars defensive miscues allowed Birmingham to extend the lead in the sixth inning. Brett Lawrie was the first to misplay a hard hit grounder with two outs. Lawrie’s ninth error loaded the bases for Tyler Kuhn, who followed with a two run double. After an infield single, Stars reliever Donovan Hand threw a wild pitch past Maldonado that allowed Kuhn to score from third.
After scuffling through the first inning, Huntsville’s starting pitcher Mark Rogers (2-4, 3.60) completed his night with four innings of no hit baseball. Rogers tossed five full innings, allowing two runs on five hits. The Stars nearly bailed out their hurler with a late rally but after a three run home run by Caleb Gindl in the eighth, momentum seemed to die and Barons reliever Deunte Heath picked up his first save of the season.
Rogers’ counterpart Brandon Hynick (1-0 2.89) picked up one out in the sixth before departing. Hynick saw 22 batters, allowed two runs on five hits and struck out four in picking up his first win.
The penultimate game of the current five game series is scheduled for a 6:00 pm (CDT) first pitch Saturday night at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville. The contest will feature a fireworks display following the game, the first Stars fireworks show of the season. Saturday’s game will be broadcast on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network (AM 1450 FM 92.9 WTKI, Huntsville) and online at www.huntsvillestars.com
Notes: Chris Errecart finished the game 2-3 including a solo home run in the seventh. Against the Barons this season, Errecart is batting .375 (9-24) with six runs.

Stars can't dig their way out of early hole, lose second half of double dip

2010-05-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (23-24) got a one-run victory in game one of Thursday’s double header, but suffered a one-run loss by a final score of 5-4 in game two against the Birmingham Barons (15-31).

The Barons took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jim Gallagher. That scored John Shelby III who doubled to lead-off the frame.

They’d chase Stars’ starter Chris Cody in the top of the third due to the long ball. Shelby III started things by hitting the first homer of the inning. Greg Paiml quickly followed with a double to left. Then Jim Gallagher capped the scoring with a two-run bomb. That would be all for Cody as Mike Guerrero called upon Mark Willinsky to finish the inning. He did, but it wasn’t easy, as an error and a single put runners at the corners with nobody out. A strike-out and a 6-4-3 double play got him out of it though with no further damage.

Facing a 4-0 deficit, the Stars got three of the runs back in a big way in the bottom of the fifth. With one away and runners at the corners Drew Anderson continued to make an impressive 2010 Stars debut with a three-run homer.

Willinsky pitched three scoreless innings before giving way to Eduardo Morlan in the top of the sixth. Morlan, recently acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization, gave up a one-out single and a two-out triple as the Barons extended their lead to 5-3.

They would need all five of those runs as the Stars came storming back again in the bottom of the frame. With one away, Lee Haydel lay down a beautiful bunt single. He would steal second and move to third on a passed ball. Then with two away, Matt Gamel delivered a clutch single to make the score 5-4.

But that’s how the game would end as the Stars went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh.

Cody (2-5) suffered the loss while Matt Long (3-4) was perfect through four and ended up going five innings for the win. Anthony Carter earned his fourth save of the year.

The offensive stars for Huntsville were Gamel and Anderson as Gamel went 2-3 with a run scored and a RBI. Meanwhile Anderson smacked his first homer for the Stars in 2010, driving in three in the process.

The Stars remain five games back of the Tennessee Smokies in the north division. Huntsville is back at it Friday night as they’ll send Mark Rogers (2-3, 3.60) to the mound. You can catch all the action beginning at 6:45pm central time on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network and online at www.huntsvillestars.com.

Stars hold on, knock off Barons in game one of double header

2010-05-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Everyone in the Huntsville Stars’ (23-23) lineup tallied a hit and a late Chris Errecart home run was the difference as they got back to .500 with a 6-5 victory over the Birmingham Barons (14-31) in game one of Thursday’s double header.

The Stars jumped out to the early lead in the bottom of the third. Drew Anderson, just assigned to Huntsville from Nashville yesterday, doubled to lead-off the frame. Two outs later, Lorenzo Cain continued his hot hitting by singling him home. The base knock gave Cain an eight-game hitting streak.

Huntsville got some help from one of the major leaguers currently rehabbing with the squad in the fourth when Mat Gamel singled with one away. With two outs, Caleb Gindl hit a chopper to the right side, pitcher Justin Edwards was late covering the bag and Gindl arrived safely. The break gave the Stars new life and Anderson took advantage as he singled to left to drive in Gamel.

The Barons would cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the fifth against Stars’ starter Michael Bowman. Cole Armstrong doubled to start things off. Two outs later John Shelby III delivered a clutch RBI triple that Lee Haydel nearly caught up against the wall out in left-center field.

But the Stars’ offense exploded in the bottom half. Martin Maldonado hit a ringing double which was quickly followed by a Cain single to center. With runners at the corners, Haydel drew a walk to load the bases. That’s when Brett Lawrie came up big with a 2-RBI single to extend the lead to 4-1 and take-over the team lead in RBI. The base hit chased Edwards from the game. New pitcher Andrew Dobies was victimized by a Zelous Wheeler single to right which drove home Haydel.

The Barons got one back in the top of the sixth on a two-out RBI single from Christian Marrero.

With the score 5-2, Errecart smacked a homer to left that extended the lead in the bottom of the sixth.

That long ball would turn out to be huge as the Barons tallied two runs off Bowman and one run off closer Brandon Kintzler in the top of the seventh. But Kintzler got Brent Morel to strike-out to end the game and earn his ninth save of the year. Bowman got the win to move to 4-4 while Edwards took the loss to fall to 2-2.

Cain, Anderson, and Lawrie had the biggest days at the plate as Cain went 3-4 with a run scored and a RBI. Meanwhile Anderson went 2-3 with a run scored and a RBI as well. Lawrie went 1-4, but his one hit got him 2 RBI.
The win breaks a three-game losing streak for the Stars and moves them back to five games behind the Smokies in the North Division.

Stars drop third straight to Braves

2010-05-24T20:07:00.001-07:00

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (22-23) couldn’t hold onto an early lead for the third consecutive game as they lost by a final score of 5-2 to the Mississippi Braves (23-22) Monday night.

The Stars got off to a fast start in the top of the first when Lorenzo Cain smacked his third triple of the season. Lee Haydel followed that up with a bloop single to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.

Stars starter Alex Periard (2-3) worked around a two-out triple and a walk in the bottom half of the first. The native of Quebec, Canada pitched his way out of trouble in every frame through the first four innings. His biggest challenge came in the bottom of the fourth when the Braves loaded the bases with only one away. But he got the Braves’ pitcher Erik Cordier to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the jam.

Huntsville would tack on an insurance run in the top of the fifth thanks to some clutch two-out hitting. Martin Maldonado started things off with a single to left. Periard bunted him over to second. After Cain drew a walk, Haydel flew-out to left. But that’s when Brett Lawrie came up big with a single up the middle to plate Maldonado.

The 2-0 lead would be extremely short-lived as Mauro Gomez smacked a three-run jack off Periard in the bottom of the 5th. That would be Periard’s final inning of work as he scattered seven hits, giving up three runs, two earned, while walking three and striking out two on the evening.

The Stars’ bullpen continued its recent struggles in the bottom of the 6th. Reliever Donovan Hand gave up a one-out double to Randy Gress. After he hit Cody Johnson, Alex Romero delivered a double to right to drive in Gress. One out later, Eric Duncan singled home Romero to extend the lead to 5-2.

Erik Cordier (3-3) tossed six innings to get the win, while Periard took the loss. Brett Butts worked a scoreless ninth for the save. With the defeat, the Stars dropped the series three games to two. Tennessee won Monday night so Huntsville is now five games back in the north division.

The Stars have a much-needed off day Tuesday before they host the Birmingham Barons for a five game series starting on Wednesday. The Stars took 4 of 5 from the Barons earlier this month. First pitch in the opener will be at 7pm Central Time on www.huntsvillestars.com.

Eighth inning not a friendly one as Stars fall to Braves

2010-05-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (22-22) scored three runs in the top of the eighth to take the lead, but the Mississippi Braves (22-22) responded with six of their own as the Stars fell by a score of 9-5 Sunday afternoon.

The Stars found themselves in an early 2-0 hole as the Braves scored one in the second and one in the third against starter Amaury Rivas.

But Brett Lawrie smacked his third homer of the season in the top of the 6th to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Rivas’ final inning of work featured a Cody Johnson RBI single to give the Braves a 3-1 lead. His outing was nowhere near his best, but he managed to only surrender three runs in six innings, despite giving up 11 hits. He struck out four and walked one.

It looked like the Stars would be in good shape when they got to the Braves’ bullpen in the top of the eighth. With one away and the bases full, Caleb Gindl singled home Lee Haydel to draw the Stars within one. After that, Chris Errecart reached on a force-attempt at second base. One run would have scored anyways, but a throwing error allowed everyone to be safe and for two runs to score. The Stars would leave the bases loaded when a strike-out and a fly-out ended the inning.

The 4-3 lead would be short-lived. Jim Henderson had tossed a scoreless seventh inning, but the Stars brought in Nick Green for the eighth and he did not fare so well. Back-to-back singles put runners on first and second with only one away. An Alex Romero double plated both runs and just like that it was 5-4 Braves. A sacrifice fly, a single, an intentional walk, and two more singles completed the scoring and when the dust cleared it was 9-4 Braves.

The Stars got one back in the top of the ninth on a Lawrie RBI single, but that was all she wrote.

Juan Abreu (2-0) got the win out of the bullpen for the Braves while Nick Green (0-1) took the loss.

Lawrie and Lee Haydel had big days at the plate for the Stars as Lawrie went 3-4 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. Haydel also had a multi-hit game as he went 2-4 with a run scored.

Both the Smokies and the Diamond Jaxx lost Sunday, so the Stars did not lose any ground in the North Division. They remain four games back of Tennessee.

The Stars will look to take the rubber match of the five game series Monday night. They’ll send Alex Periard (2-2, 4.05 ERA) to the mound. Join us on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network beginning at 6:50pm Central Time.

Stars take early lead, but fall to Braves

2010-05-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (22-21) got a tremendous performance from Mark Rogers, but blew a 3-0 lead as they fell 4-3 to the Mississippi Braves (21-22) Saturday night.

Rogers walked a season low one batter while striking out six in what was arguably his best outing of the season. The Stars would get him some run support right away.

With one out in the first inning, Caleb Gindl was hit by a pitch. Brett Lawrie followed that up with a single up the gut. A Zelous Wheeler RBI double made it 1-0 Stars. Friday night’s hero Chris Errecart followed that up with a RBI grounder to plate Lawrie and extend the advantage to 2-0.

The lone difficult inning for Rogers came in the bottom of the second. An error, a single and a walk loaded the bases with nobody out. But Rogers caught a break when Alejandro Machado lined a shot right back to the mound. Rogers caught it and doubled off the runner at second base. He would get the next hitter to ground-out and got out of the jam unscathed.

Rogers helped his own cause in the top of the fourth. With one away Chuckie Caufield reached on a bunt single to extend his hitting streak to six games. With two away, Martin Maldonado drew a walk. That’s when Rogers laced a single to center to drive home Caufield.

After Rogers departed, Mark Willinsky took over and worked a very quick sixth inning.

But the Braves got two runs back in the bottom of the seventh on a couple of singles, and some shaky Stars defense. A Juan Gonzalez single plated Donell Linares, who had also singled, and the Stars’ lead was 3-1. Then things got crazy. With runners at the corners and two down, Alex Romero hit a grounder to Andy Machado. Machado’s throw to Lawrie at second base was wide and got away. One run scored, but Cody Johnson was gunned down at the plate by Chris Errecart. Johnson was immediately ejected from the game as he slammed his helmet down in anger. Braves’ manager Phillip Wellman would also be ejected. When the dust cleared, the Stars held on to a razor-thin one-run lead.

Huntsville nearly got an insurance run in the top of the eighth, but Wheeler was thrown out at the plate trying to score on an Andy Machado fly ball to end the inning.

Robert Hinton relieved Willinsky in the eighth inning and ran into trouble. He gave up a single and hit a man with nobody out. But a failed sacrifice bunt allowed the Stars to get the lead runner at third. A Donell Linares 2-RBI double would give the Braves a 4-3 edge.

Hinton (0-2) took the loss while Juan Abreu (1-0) got the win for Mississippi. Lee Hyde worked a scoreless ninth for his fourth save of the year.

With the loss the Stars drop to four games back of the Smokies in the North Division. It also snaps their four-game winning streak. It’s also only the second time all year the Stars have lost when leading after six innings.

The Stars are back in action Sunday afternoon as they’ll send their ace Amaury Rivas (5-2, 2.05 ERA) to the mound. First pitch is at 2:05 pm Central Time. You can tune in on http://www.huntsvillestars.com.

Stars go the extra mile to defeat Braves

2010-05-21T21:47:00.001-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Chris Errecart doubled home Lorenzo Cain and Brett Lawrie in the top of the 10th as the Huntsville Stars (22-20) knocked off the Mississippi Braves (20-22) by a final score of 4-2 Friday night.

The Stars got on the board in the top of the second against Braves’ starter Mike Minor by playing some small ball. With nobody out, Zelous Wheeler doubled to left. After Chris Errecart was hit by a pitch, Chuckie Caufield moved the runners over with a beautiful sacrifice bunt. With the infield back, Andy Machado hit a grounder to short to drive in Wheeler and give the Stars a 1-0 lead.

Stars starter Chris Cody would get an assist from his defense in the bottom of the third. With two down and a man on second, Mauro Gomez sent a single into left that Haydel fielded. Donell Linares attempted to score on the play and Haydel gunned him down at the plate.

Machado continued his solid day at the plate in the top of the fourth. The inning started with the old lead-off base-on-balls to Wheeler. Zelous would steal second and advance to third on a Caufield single. That’s when Machado drilled a double to right to plate Wheeler and put runners at 2nd and 3rd with only one down. But Sean McCraw would strike-out and Cody grounded out to end the inning with the Stars up 2-0.

But the Braves would threaten in the bottom of the fourth. They loaded the bases with nobody out and appeared to be on the cusp of getting a crooked number in the runs column. On a pay-off pitch to Alejandro Machado, the shortstop lined out to Andy Machado who coolly flipped the ball to Brett Lawrie for a 6-4 double-play. Cody was able to get the pitcher Mike Minor to hit a deep fly-ball to left-field where Lee Haydel chased it down for the third out of the inning.

Mississippi would cut the Stars’ lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a solo homer off the bat of Eric Duncan.

Cody walked a tightrope through his five innings of work, as the Braves left nine stranded while he scattered eight hits, surrendering only the lone Duncan solo shot.

Donovan Hand relieved Cody and tossed two perfect innings of relief. But he got into a bit of a pickle in the eighth. With nobody out, Gomez doubled to center. Willie Cabrera followed that with a single to right, putting runners at the corners. That would be all for Hand as Mike Guerrero chose to bring in the lefty Casey Baron. Cabrera would steal second base to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Cody Johnson worked Baron to a full count and drew a walk. Once again the Braves had the bases full with no outs. Orlando Mercado delivered a sacrifice fly to left that scored Gomez to tie the game at two.

But Baron was able to escape the inning with no further damage as he picked off Cabrera and got Machado to ground out.

The Stars tried to respond immediately in the top of the ninth. New pitcher Brett Butts hit Chris Errecart. That was followed by a bunt from Scott Krieger going the Stars way as Butts couldn’t handle the ball, allowing everyone to arrive safely at their respective bags. Machado would bunt both runners over, putting runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out. But Sean McCraw struck-out, leaving it up to Juan Sanchez. But Sanchez would ground-out, allowing Butts to escape the jam.

Baron walked the lead-off man Juan Gonzalez in the bottom of the 9th inning. A sacrifice bunt moved Gonzalez to second base. After that, Stars decided to intentionally walk Linares. It paid off when Duncan lined into an unassisted double play as Chris Errecart caught the ball and tagged out Linares to end the inning.

In the top of the 10th, Cain drew a lead-off walk. Brent Brewer bunted him over to second. After the Braves intentionally walked Lawrie, Wheeler drew a walk to load the bases. That’s when Errecart delivered his big double to plate Cain and Lawrie and give the Stars a 4-2 lead.

Brandon Kintzler nailed down his eighth save of the year in the bottom of the tenth, which gives him a tie for the Southern League lead.

Baron’s (1-0) two innings of work out of the bullpen were enough to get him his first win of the year. Meanwhile Butts (0-1) took the loss.

No one on the Stars tallied a multi-hit game, but Machado drove in two of the four runs.

The victory brings the Stars to within three games of the division-leading Smokies, who lost to Jacksonville.

Huntsville sends Mark Rogers (2-3, 4.20 ERA) to the mound Saturday as they look to clinch the series. Join us starting at 6:50 for the Window World Pre-Game Report. You can catch all the action on 1450 AM/92.9 FM WTKI and the Stars Radio Network. The game can always be heard on www.huntsvillestars.com as well.

Stars weather the weather, get third straight win

2010-05-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

After sitting through a rain delay that lasted two hours and 12 minutes, the Huntsville Stars (21-20) used an outstanding performance from Michael Bowman (3-4) to prevail 5-4 over the Mississippi Braves (20-21) Thursday night into Friday morning.

The Stars put runners on first and third with two away in the top of the first before the teams were called off the field due to the impending thunder storm. The delay forced the Braves to switch pitchers, Ryne Reynoso (0-1) replaced starter Richard Sullivan when the game resumed.

The Stars did not need to switch pitchers as Bowman had yet to throw a pitch in the game so rust would be at a minimum. That was certainly the case as he tossed six innings of one-hit ball, walking two and striking out five.

Chuck Caufield got the Stars on the board in the top of the fourth with a solo homer off Reynoso. It’s the first long ball of the year for Caufield.

Huntsville would get some much-needed insurance in the top of the seventh. With one away Martin Maldonado singled up the middle. Scott Krieger pinch hit for Bowman and came up big with a single to center for his second hit as a Huntsville Star. Back to the top of the order the Stars went and Lorenzo Cain continued his excellent season with a single to left to drive home Maldonado. Cain’s single chased Reynoso from the game. Relief pitcher Thomas Palica was greeted rather rudely by Brett Lawrie as the former first round pick smacked his league-leading seventh triple of the year, clearing the bases and extending the lead to 4-0. A Braves error allowed Lawrie to cross home to complete the scoring. When the dust cleared, the Stars had a 5-0 advantage.

Robert Hinton relieved Bowman for the bottom half of the seventh inning and got some help from Cain, who made a spectacular catch as he crashed into the wall 380 feet away from home plate on a ball hit by Mauro Gomez.

Hinton would run into trouble in the eighth inning as Randy Gress started things off for the Braves with a double to left. Two outs later, Hinton walked Alex Romero. A Donell Linares single drove in Gress and that was quickly followed by an Eric Duncan RBI single as well. With the lead cut to 5-2, manager Mike Guerrero brought in Nick Green to put out the fire. In his first appearance for the Stars this season, Green got some help from Chris Errecart. The first-baseman made a nice catch over the railing in foul territory on a pop-up to end the inning.

Green gave up a lead-off single in the bottom of the ninth. One out later, another single brought the tying run to the plate. That would be all for Green as Brandon Kintzler entered to try and finish off the victory. Kintzler would walk pinch-hitter Orlando Mercado to load the bases. But he would bounce back to strike-out Travis Jones on three straight pitches. Romero would single home Gress and Willie Cabrera, and the Stars found themselves only up 5-4.

With the tying and winning runs aboard, Kintzler got Linares to line out to Cain to secure his seventh save of the season.

Lawrie and Cain both had big days at the plate as Brett went 2-3 with a run scored and two driven in. Cain also had a couple of hits with a run scored and a RBI. Cain swiped his 10th base of the year, but not to be out-done; Lawrie stole two bags to take the team lead with 11. Meanwhile Caufield’s homer extended his hitting streak to four games.

The win pulls the Stars to within a half game of West Tennessee for the second place spot in the North Division. The Smokies also won Thursday, so Huntsville remains four games out of first.

The Stars are back on the air Friday night for game two of the five-game set with the Braves. Join us on the AM 1450/92.9 FM WTKI and the Stars Radio Network or www.huntsvillestars.com beginning at 6:50pm Central Time. Former first round pick Mark Rogers (2-3, 4.20 ERA) heads to the mound to take on Mississippi’s Mike Minor (1-3, 3.43 ERA).

Stars offense explodes as they take series finale from Smokies

2010-05-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Zelous Wheeler tallied four hits and the Huntsville Stars (20-20) matched their season high for homers in a game with three as they destroyed the Tennessee Smokies (24-16) by a final score of 11-3 Wednesday afternoon.

The Smokies took the early 1-0 lead on a Matthew Spencer RBI double in the top of the first.

But the Stars offense, which has been quiet for quite a few games, exploded in the bottom half of the frame against Smokies’ starter Alberto Cabrera.

With one away, Lee Haydel, fresh off the DL, smacked a single to right. After Brett Lawrie walked, Wheeler delivered a ringing 2-RBI double to center. Chris Errecart followed that with a double of his own and the Stars had a 3-1 lead. But they weren’t done. A wild pitch moved Errecart to third and with two down Andy Machado drew a walk.

That’s when the bottom of the order came up huge. Martin Maldonado legged out a rare infield single to drive in Errecart. Then the pitcher Alex Periard helped out his own cause by singling up the middle and the Stars had a 5-1 lead.

The Periard single chased Cabrera from the game after only 2/3rds of an inning.

Tennessee used the long ball to cut the Stars’ lead to 5-3 as Russ Canzler homered in the second and Ty Wright went yard in the third.

But the Stars answered both of those in the bottom of the fourth against reliever Jeremy Papelbon. Lorenzo Cain and Zelous Wheeler both smacked solo shots to extend the advantage to 7-3.

The Stars’ third long ball of the day came in the bottom of the 6th as Brett Lawrie drilled his 2nd bomb of the year.

They would put the game out of reach later that inning on a 2-RBI single from Andy Machado to go ahead 10-3. Lawrie would continue his big day of the plate with a RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to drive home Brent Brewer.

Alex Periard (2-2) tossed seven strong innings to get the win. He gave up three runs on seven hits, but shutout the Smokies for the final four frames he was in the game.

Everyone in the Stars’ lineup tallied at least one hit, while Lawrie, Errecart, and Wheeler each had multi-hit games. Those three also had multi-RBI games as the Stars scored as many runs Wednesday as they had in their previous five games combined.

With the win the Stars pull back within four games of the division-leading Smokies. They head on the road tomorrow to take on the Mississippi Braves. You can catch all the action on the Stars Radio Network and www.huntsvillestars.com beginning at 6:45pm Central Time with the Window World Pre-Game Show.

Stars Shine During Day

2010-05-11T20:21:00.001-07:00

Mark Rogers, Mike Jones, and Brandon Kintzler combined to strike-out seven while surrendering only four hits in Tuesday afternoon’s 4-0 victory for the Huntsville Stars (17-15) over the Montgomery Biscuits (17-14).

Rogers (2-2), a former first round draft pick of the Brewers, managed his control nicely through his five innings of work to earn the win. He walked three and struck-out three while allowing only one hit. After a couple of rocky outings, Tuesday matched Rogers’ season-high for innings pitched in a game.

The bullpen has been solid all year and Tuesday was no different. Long-time Star Mike Jones walked a bit of a tightrope, but ended up throwing three shutout innings of his own while giving up two hits, walking two, and striking out three.

Brandon Kintzler was Brandon Kintzler in the ninth…meaning he threw a scoreless frame with minimal problem. The reliever has now started the season with 13.2 innings of shutout ball.

The Stars took the early lead in the top of the second against Biscuits’ starter Jake McGee thanks to the bottom of their order. Chris Errecart singled to lead-off the frame. After Andy Machado walked, Juan Sanchez, recently called up from Brevard County, laid down a nice sacrifice bunt. Some small ball from Chuckie Caufield produced a sacrifice fly, scoring Errecart, and it was 1-0 Stars.

It was Errecart providing the spark again in the top of the fourth as he doubled with nobody out. A sacrifice bunt from Machado moved him to third and a throwing error on the play allowed Errecart to scamper all the way to the plate for the game’s second run.

Then the Stars did something they don’t normally do: use the long ball. After Brent Brewer singled in the fifth off reliever Justin Garcia, Martin Maldonado went yard for the second time this year to extend the lead to 4-0.

With the Smokies winning as well, the Stars remain four back in the North Division race.

Huntsville takes on the Biscuits Wednesday night at 7:05pm central time in game three of the five game series. Tune in at 6:50pm for the Window World Pre-Game Report.

Biscuits Inch Their Way Past Stars

2010-05-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse
The Montgomery Biscuits (17-13) used some small ball after a long ball got them on the board and the Huntsville Stars (16-15) continued to struggle on offense as the Biscuits prevailed by a score of 3-2 Monday night.

The Biscuits got their first run against Stars starter Michael Bowman in the bottom of the second with a homer from Matt Fields, his team leading 6th bomb of the year. But the Stars responded right away in the top half of the third inning thanks to the bottom of their order. Brent Brewer started things off with a single to center. That was followed by a Martin Maldonado double to right, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody down. One out later Caleb Gindl grounded out to score Brewer. But that would be all the Stars could get that inning.

The Biscuits got an unearned run off Bowman in the bottom of the 5th inning as a Zelous Wheeler throwing error allowed Cody Strait to reach base with one away. Strait immediately stole second base. He advanced to third a single and scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Emeel Salem.

Bowman got a no-decision in a strong outing as he went 5.2 innings, scattering five hits, giving up two runs, only one of which was earned, while walking two and striking out four.

The Stars would tie the game up in the top of the 7th thanks to more production from the bottom of the order. With one away, Andy Machado doubled to right. Then with two away, Chuck Caufield came up huge with a single up the gut and the game was tied.

Unfortunately the tie did not last long as the Biscuits got to reliever Mike McClendon (1-1) in the bottom half of the frame. Greg Sexton got things going with a double to right. A ground out moved him to third. Then John Matulia flied out to deep left to drive in Sexton.

That’d be all the solid Biscuits bullpen needed as Matt Gorgen nailed down his 6th save of the year and Dane De La Rosa (3-0) got the win in relief of starter Jeremy Hall.

Brent Brewer (3-4) had the only multi-hit game on either team.

The Stars remain four games back of the North Division leading Tennessee Smokies. They’re back in action Tuesday morning as they take on the Biscuits at 10:35 a.m. central time. Chris Cody (2-3) will be on the mound and you can hear all the action only on http://www.huntsvillestars.com.

Stars walk off with win

2010-05-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Martin Maldonado singled home the game-winner and the Huntsville Stars (16-13) scored four in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx by a final score of 6-5 Friday night.

The Stars struck first in the game as they got two unearned runs off Diamond Jaxx starter Steve Bray in the bottom of the second. An error allowed Taylor Green to reach to lead things off. After Chris Errecart singled the runners were bunted over 90 feet by Andy Machado. Brent Brewer, who has been quite effective when he makes contact, singled home Green but Errecart was thrown out by left fielder Carlos Peguero in jarring collision at the plate. Brewer went to second on the throw and was singled home by Maldonado.

But after that the Stars’ bats went silent. They went down 1-2-3 in every inning except the 5th (when Maldonado drew a walk) from that inning on…until the fateful 9th.

Meanwhile the Diamond Jaxx were doing what they do best: hit the long ball. In the top of the third Carlos Triunfel homered to left off Stars starter Alex Periard. That was followed by a Carlos Peguero double. One out later Johan Limonta drew a walk. With two away, Alex Liddi showed why he’s the Diamond Jaxx’s RBI leader with a ringing double to score Peguero. After a visit to the mound from pitching coach John Curtis, Periard was able to get Dustin Ackley to roll a pitch over. The only problem was that it found a space in the infield on the right side where Machado had to dive to stop the ball. Ackley was safe at first with an infield single and Limonta scored.

Before you could say “here we go again” the Diamond Jaxx had a 3-2 lead.

They’d tack on one more in the fourth thanks to a Peguero bomb into the trees and one more in the sixth when Luis Oliveros hit one to the next county.

Periard went 6 innings, gave up 8 hits, 5 runs, all earned, walked 2 and struck out 3.

Mike Jones (1-1) entered in the seventh inning and pitched three frames of shut-out ball.

The Diamond Jaxx, nursing a 5-2 lead brought former first round pick Josh Fields in to get the save in the 9th inning. But things didn’t go exactly as planned.

Lee Haydel drew a lead-off walk and promptly stole second base. One out later Zelous Wheeler hit a shot down the third base line that landed barely fair for a double to drive in Haydel. That prompted a protest from Diamond Jaxx manager Tim Laker, who thought the ball had landed foul. More to come about that in a second.

Taylor Green busted out of his recent slump with a ringing double down the right field line to score Wheeler.

Then things got wacky. Chris Errecart hit a line drive down the first base line that appeared to land foul. He actually paused and turned around to go back to the plate, but saw the home plate umpire Chris Segal point “fair”, and so he took off running. Meanwhile, everyone on the Diamond Jaxx had stopped pursuing the ball because they assumed it was foul. By the time they realized it’d actually been called fair Errecart was standing on third base with a RBI triple.

Laker promptly got ejected from the game as he was absolutely incensed with the call.

Just like that the game was tied at 5. Two intentional walks later, the bases were loaded with only one down and Maldonado lined his shot to right off reliever Anthony Varvaro to win the game.

“I was looking for a fastball, because that guy throws hard, 91-97,” Maldonado said. “So I was looking for something to drive.”

It was the second walk-off hit of Maldonado’s professional career. He had one last year in Brevard County.

Jones got the win in relief while Fields picked up the loss.

With the Smokies losing today, the Stars are now three games back in the Northern Division.

The Stars are back in action Saturday evening with a 6:00pm Central Time first pitch on WTKI and http://www.huntsvillestars.com. Tune in at 5:45 for the Window World Pre-Game report. Mark Rogers (1-2, 4.95) is on the mound for the Stars.

Diamond Jaxx pound Stars

2010-05-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

The West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx (12-13) got an outstanding performance from Michael Pineda (2-0), and their offense exploded for 13 runs as they crushed the Huntsville Stars (15-11) by a final score of 13-2 Tuesday night.

The Diamond Jaxx got on the board in the second inning thanks to a solo homer from former 2nd overall pick Dustin Ackley. But Stars’ starter Michael Bowman (2-3) was his own worst enemy in the third inning when he walked Kuo Hui Lo and Carlos Peguero consecutively with one away. A wild pitch moved both runners up 90 feet and Johan Limonta took advantage by singling home both runners to extend the lead to 3-0. After Mike Wilson struck out, Guillermo Quiroz doubled home Limonta to make the score 4-0.

Bowman settled down after that, going 5 innings, giving up 6 hits and 4 runs while walking 3 and striking out 3 as well.

But the Diamond Jaxx busted the game wide open in the 6th against reliever Jim Henderson as they plated four runs. They’d tack on one more in the 7th and three more in the 8th off Casey Baron before the Stars threw up the white flag and brought in infielder Chris Errecart to pitch.

Meanwhile, Pineda was untouchable, going seven innings, giving up only four hits, walking one and striking out 11.

Huntsville got their runs in the 9th inning when Caleb Gindl hit a RBI single that plated Brett Lawrie. A double play later in the inning scored Gindl.

The Stars look to avenge the blowout Wednesday night at 7:00pm Central Time as they’ll send Chris Cody to the mound. Tune to http://www.huntsvillestars.com at 6:45 for the Window World Pre-Game Show.

Stars shine in late innings against Birmingham to sweep double header

2010-05-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

You like epic comebacks? Oh, we have some epic comebacks.

The Huntsville Stars (15-10) scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning on Monday to defeat the Birmingham Barons (6-18) by a final score of 5-4 in game one of their double header.

Then they did it again in game two. Except this time they only needed two runs in the top of the seventh as they prevailed 4-3.

But let’s go back to the beginning. The Barons have struggled all year, but they sent their undisputed ace, and Southern League ERA leader Charles Shirek to the mound for game one. Not surprisingly, he was his usual dominating self for the first five innings. Meanwhile the Stars responded with former first round draft pick Mark Rogers. The Barons got to Rogers for one run in the first without recording a hit.

Rogers hit John Shelby III to start the inning. Shelby III was able to steal second base. With one down, Jim Gallagher drew a walk. The aggressive Barons proceeded to pull off a double steal to put two runners in scoring position. Brent Morel grounded out to second base to score Shelby III, but that would be the extent of the damage in the first inning.

Zelous Wheeler nearly hit a homer off Shirek in the second inning, but a leaping catch by right fielder Salvador Sanchez took it away.

Rogers matched Shirek pitch for pitch until he ran into trouble in the bottom of the fourth. Lee Cruz started things off with a ringing double to left. Then Rogers was a victim of some bad luck as a Sanchez “Baltimore Chop” bounced over the head of Steffan Wilson and into right field. That scored Cruz and the lead was 2-0 for the Barons.

Then the Barons played some small ball. First, catcher Chase Blackwood bunted Sanchez over to second base. That was followed by a quick swipe of third. Manager Ever Magallanes went deep in to his bag of tricks and pulled out the old suicide squeeze. Justin Fuller executed it to perfection, and the Barons had a 3-0 lead.

After five complete, things didn’t look so great for the Stars, as they found themselves down 3-0 in a 7-inning game.

But that all changed in the top of the sixth. Lee Haydel, who has filled in nicely for the injured Lorenzo Cain in the lead-off spot, laced a double to right to start things off. Then Brett Lawrie hit a seeing-eye single up the middle to plate Haydel and just like that Shirek had given up only his third run of the season. Down 3-1, the Stars kept the pressure on Shirek when with one away, Wheeler singled to right. That put runners on the corners for Taylor Green.

Manager Mike Guerrero decided to play some small ball himself as he sent Wheeler with two strikes on Green. Green struck-out, but the throw to second base got away from Fuller and Lawrie came in from third to cut the deficit to 3-2. Shirek would get out of the inning without any further damage, but the Stars had gotten within striking distance.

Unfortunately a solo homer from Morel in the top half of the seventh seemed to once again put the game at more than arm’s reach.

Then the Barons made a bit of a tactical mistake, they took out Shirek in favor of Miguel Socolovich (2-2) in the bottom half of the seventh.

Wilson led-off the inning and drew a walk. One out later Martin Maldonado also drew a walk. Then Haydel continued his phenomenal double header with a double to right field to score Wilson. But a Lawrie strikeout put the Stars down to their final out.

That’s when Caleb Gindl worked his magic. Gindl, who had the game-winning hit just two days ago, singled up the middle to plate both runners and give the Stars their first lead of the game.

That would be more than enough for Mark Willinsky (1-0), who after giving up the solo homer in the sixth out of the ‘pen, slammed the door in the bottom half of the seventh to earn his first win of the year.

But the great night for the Stars was just getting started.

In game two of the double header, the Barons once again jumped out to the early lead. This time against spot starter Mike Jones, the Barons scored three in the bottom half of the first inning.

Meanwhile, the Stars’ offense was once again quiet early, this time being shut-down by the younger brother of Chiefs’ QB Matt Cassel: Justin Cassel. They finally got to him in the fifth inning thanks in-part to the newest Star: Brent Brewer.

Wilson started the inning by drawing a walk. Brewer, who had already doubled in his first Stars’ at-bat, singled to move Wilson down to second base. A nice sacrifice bunt from Sean McCraw moved both runners up 90 feet. Then Cassel uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Wilson to score. Haydel, who had such a big impact in game one, smacked another double to score Brewer and the deficit all of a sudden was only 3-2. But Haydel, for reasons beyond anyone watching’s understanding, attempted to steal third with Lawrie at the plate and was thrown out by a mile. Lawrie would then strike-out to end the inning.

Robert Hinton relieved Jones to start the fifth inning. Jones, in his second start of the year, really settled down after the rough first inning and gave the Stars enough so they were able to stay within range of the Barons. But Hinton immediately ran into trouble as Gallagher doubled with one away. A single from Morel put runners at the corners.

Then what was basically the turning point of the game occurred. Christian Marrero hit a fly ball to center that Haydel caught for the second out. Gallagher attempted to score on the play, and Haydel’s throw had him beat by a few steps. Unfortunately the ball tipped off the top of McCraw’s glove and went all the way to the backstop where Hinton picked it up. Meanwhile, McCraw got absolutely run over on the play. It appeared that the Barons had a much needed insurance run, but the Stars appealed to third base and it was ruled that Gallagher had left the bag too early. The inning was over, and the Stars had officially turned their fourth double play in the past four innings of the game. In-between innings, manager Magallanes and Gallagher got the boot for vehemently arguing the call with home plate umpire Gerard Ascani.

The Stars would go down quietly in the sixth, but rose again in the seventh to complete yet another amazing comeback. This time the Barons kept their starter in to begin the inning, as Cassel had had a nice outing. But an error would open the floodgates as Chris Errecart hit a grounder to short that snuck under the glove of Greg Paiml. Wilson hit a grounder to second and they got the force on Errecart, but a hustling Wilson would beat the relay throw to first.

Then Wilson really showed some hustle. In the gutsiest move of the year, he stole second base. It was his first stolen base attempt of the year, and luckily for the Stars he was successful. Not only that, the throw went into center so Wilson was also able to advance to third on the play. Cassel walked Brewer and his day was done.

In came Joe Torres, who immediately got the second out of the inning when he got pinch hitter Brett Dowdy to pop out to short. For the second consecutive game, the Stars were down to their final out. Torres got two strikes on Haydel, but what was a theme for the day continued as Haydel came up big once again with a slap-shot down the left field line to score Wilson, tie the game, and advance Brewer to third. That would be all for Torres and Tyson Corley entered the game. Lawrie was able to beat out an infield single to score Brewer and the Stars took the 4-3 lead that they would not relinquish.

Mike McClendon (1-0) worked two shut-out innings out of the bullpen to pick up the win while Cassel (0-2) suffered the hard-luck loss.

Haydel had a huge day at the plate, going 5-8 in the double header and driving in three runs while scoring two of his own.

With the sweep, the Stars move to within three games of the Tennessee Smokies in the North Division.

The Stars head back home to Joe Davis Stadium for a five game set beginning on Tuesday against the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx. The Stars took 3 of 5 when they went to Jackson earlier in the year. Michael Bowman (2-2, 4.58) will be on the mound for game one, which starts at 7:00 p.m. Central Time. Join us on http://www.huntsvillestars.com for the Window World Pre-Game Report beginning at 6:45.

Extra innings no problem for Stars

2010-05-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Caleb Gindl came up big off the bench and Brandon Kintzler (1-0) earned his first win of the season as the Huntsville Stars (13-10) scored two runs in the ninth and one more in the 11th to prevail 4-3 over the Birmingham Barons (6-16) Saturday night.

The Stars’ biggest problem all year long has been defense, and the bottom of the first inning on Saturday was no different. John Shelby started things off with a grounder to short, the throw from Zelous Wheeler to first base was dropped by Chris Errecart. The next batter, Dale Mollenhauer lined a base hit to center field. It appeared they’d be able to get Mollenhauer out between first and second, but Brett Lawrie instead attempted to get Shelby going from first to third, and he threw it into the camera well, allowing Shelby to score and for Mollenhauer to advance to third. A ground-out scored Mollenhauer. But the Barons weren’t done. Brent Morel doubled to left, and with two outs Lee Cruz singled him home to extend the lead to 3-0.

But Huntsville battled back in the top half of the second inning thanks to some shaky defense on the Barons’ part. With one away, Chris Errecart reached on a throwing error by Morel. With two down, and two on after a Steffan Wilson single, Chuckie Caufield, playing in place of the injured Caleb Gindl, delivered a clutch single to left to drive in Errecart.

It would stay at a 3-1 score until the top half of the 9th inning. With one away, Errecart got the rally going with a single to center. Brett Dowdy got his first hit as a Star with a single to shallow leftfield. Wilson followed that with a two-strike single to right to load the bases with only one down. Then the Stars got a little dramatic as they pinch-hit with the previously injured Gindl. Caleb was able to draw a walk to drive in a run and cut the deficit to 3-2. A Martin Maldonado sacrifice fly tied the game, but Lee Haydel struck out to end the inning.

Errecart continued his nice day at the plate with a lead-off double in the top of the 11th. Two outs later, with Errecart on third, Gindl hit a slow chopper to third base. He was able to beat out the throw and the Stars took a 4-3 lead.

Alex Periard went six solid innings, scattering five hits and giving up three runs, but none of them were earned. Jim Henderson tossed 2.1 shutout innings in relief and Kintzler got the win thanks to 2.2 perfect innings to end the game.

Jhonny Nunez pitched well for the Barons, but got a no decision despite five solid innings and no earned runs surrendered. Henry Mabee blew his second save of the year in the ninth and Tyson Corley (0-1) suffered the loss.

The Stars return to action Sunday afternoon as they play 2:05pm central time game against the Barons. Mark Rogers (1-2) will be on the mound as the Stars look to clinch the series victory. Tune to WTKI or http://www.huntsvillestars.com for all the action.

Stars stopped in their tracks by Barons

2010-04-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

Brent Morel drove in two runs and the Huntsville Stars (11-10) left nine men on base as the Birmingham Barons (6-14) prevailed by a final score of 3-1 Thursday night.

The Barons got off to a fast start in the bottom of the first against Stars’ starter Chris Cody (2-2). With one away, Greg Paiml drew a walk. That was followed by a Jim Gallagher single to right. Chuck Caufield attempted to get Paiml going from first to third, but was unsuccessful, the resulting throw allowed Gallagher to advance to second. With two on in scoring position, it looked like the Barons were headed towards a big inning. Morel singled to right to score Paiml. The throw to the plate was cut-off as Gallagher held at third, but Morel attempted to head to second on the play and Chris Errecart threw him out. After the next batter was hit by a pitch, Cody was able to get out of the jam with no further damage as he struck out Lee Cruz.

The Barons threatened in the second inning as they loaded the bases with only one away. But Cody was able to get a good old fashioned 5-4-3 double play to escape the inning unscathed.

Then the Stars were able to get even things up thanks mostly to Lee Haydel in the bottom half of the second. Haydel started the inning with a beautiful bunt single. The speedster stole second and advanced to third as the throw sailed into centerfield. One out later Caufield grounded out to drive Haydel home.

The Stars struggled mightily throughout the game with runners in scoring position. They finished the game 0-8 in that category.

Cody settled down but gave up a solo homer to John Shelby in the fifth as the Barons took a 2-1 lead. Cody ended the day by tossing five innings, surrendering five hits, giving up two runs, while walking three and striking out three as well.

Morel would single home Paiml again in the eighth off reliever Mike Jones to give the Barons an insurance run.

Despite out-hitting the Barons 10-6, the Stars saw their hold on second place erased as both the Lookouts and the Diamond Jaxx won today.

All three teams are now four games back of the Tennessee Smokies. Join us on WTKI and http://www.huntsvillestars.com Friday, beginning at 6:50pm Central Time for the Window World Pre-Game Show. Amaury Rivas (3-0) will be on the mound as he looks to help break the Stars’ first 3-game losing streak of the year.

Stars score early and often on their way to victory

2010-04-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Morse

The Huntsville Stars (11-7) scored runs in four of the first five innings to defeat the Chattanooga Lookouts (8-10) by a final score of 8-2 Monday night.

The Lookouts were a mess in the field as they committed four errors. Only two of the eight Stars’ runs were earned.

The Stars have been getting off to fast starts all year long and Monday was no different. With one out in the first inning Brett Lawrie singled to left. He’d advance to third on a wild pitch from Lookouts’ starter Mario Alvarez (2-2), and he’d score on a RBI single from red-hot Zelous Wheeler. Wheeler would finish the game with two hits, two runs scored, and four RBI.

The Stars would run away and hide from the Lookouts in the second frame. The inning started innocently enough with a ground-out and a strikeout. But Lee Haydel reached on an error, and the floodgates opened. A wild pick-off attempt from Alvarez allowed the speedy Haydel to scamper around to third.

After Lawrie drew a walk, Caleb Gindl hit what looked like a routine grounder to short. Shortstop Elian Herrera looked to toss it to second base for the force, but no one was covering, so he re-adjusted and fired to first. Gindl would have beat it out anyways, but the throw was low, allowing Lawrie to advance to third and Gindl to second. Meanwhile, Haydel crossed the plate with the game’s second run. Then Wheeler went the opposite way for his first homer of the year, a three run blast to extend the lead to 5-0.

The Lookouts would get two runs back in the top of the fourth off Stars’ pitcher Alex Periard (1-2). A one-out double from Andrew Lambo put the Lookouts in business. After a Mike Rivera single, Lambo came around to score on a Eduardo Perez base hit up the middle. Scott Van Slyke grounded into a fielder’s choice, which plated Rivera.

But that’s all the offense the Lookouts could muster as Periard went five strong innings to pick up his first win of the year. The Stars would get the runs back in the bottom half of the frame thanks to a bizarre single from Taylor Green. With runners on first and second, Green hit a line drive to left field, Gindl was held up at third base at first, but he strayed a bit off the bag. A snap throw attempt back to third got away, allowing Gindl and Wheeler to come around to score.

A Haydel RBI single in the fifth concluded the scoring for the Stars.

Mike McClendon and Brandon Kintzler combined to toss four shutout innings out of the ‘pen as Stars kept pace with the torrid Tennessee Smokies.

The Stars look to clinch yet another series victory Tuesday night as former first round draft pick Mark Rogers (1-1, 1.98) will be on the hill. You can tune in by going to http://www.huntsvillestars.com. First pitch is at 7pm Central Time, with the Window World Pre-Game Report beginning at 6:45.