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.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Anderson ties a record and Stars get another dramatic win
By Aaron Morse
Drew Anderson tied the Stars’ franchise record with his 71st career double, Caleb Gindl smacked a walk-off double off the leg of the pitcher, and the Huntsville Stars (24-17, 57-54) stunned the Carolina Mudcats (19-22, 49-61) in come-from-behind fashion by a final score of 6-5 Friday night.
Carolina got on the board with a solo home run off the bat of Dave Sappelt in the first. They’d tack on one more in the second thanks to a bases-loaded wild pitch uncorked by Stars’ starter Wily Peralta.
Peralta ran up a high pitch count, going only 4.1 innings, giving up six hits and two runs, both earned. He walked two and struck-out two. Peralta threw 93 pitches, 53 of them for strikes.
Meanwhile Huntsville gave him the lead in the fourth. Tom Cochran retired the first nine batters he faced, but that changed big time the second time around the order. Gindl drew a lead-off walk and Brett Lawrie played some small ball, reaching on a bunt single. Andy Machado lined a single up the gut to load the bases for Anderson. The slugger crushed his 15th double of the year, clearing the bases and launching himself into the Stars’ record books. It was Anderson’s 71st career double as a Star, tying him with Jason Wood for the most doubles in franchise history.
The 3-2 lead became a 4-2 lead when Lawrie doubled home Lee Haydel in the fifth.
Nick Green got the Stars out of a big jam in the fifth and worked a scoreless sixth inning. But the right-hander ran into trouble in the seventh.
With one away he walked Mike Costanzo and Luis Terrero followed with a single to right. Normally a visit to the mound from pitching coach John Curtis does wonders, not this time as Devin Mesoraco launched a three-run bomb to propel the Mudcats ahead by a score of 5-4. That was it for Green as Jim Henderson entered and got the final two outs of the inning.
The Stars finally got some offense going against reliever Bradley Boxberger in the ninth inning. Chris Nowak led-off with a single to center. Taylor Green came back from an 0-2 count to draw an eight-pitch walk. Mike Guerrero instructed Patrick Arlis to bunt the runners over and he did exactly that.
Then the Mudcats took a risk by intentionally walking Lee Haydel to get to the dangerous Zelous Wheeler. Wheeler was pinch hitting for pitcher Eddie Morlan and he looked a bit rusty as he struck-out, leaving it up to Gindl.
Caleb had not been having a good series, having gone 1-17 entering the AB. But the law of averages took over. Gindl lined a ball off the leg of Boxberger and the ball bounced into no-man’s land on the infield. Gindl improbably got a two-RBI double out of the play as Nowak and Green came around to score and the Stars walked off as winners again.
Morlan’s (2-2) scoreless ninth inning was good enough for the Win and Boxberger (1-2) took the loss.
Lawrie, Machado, and Haydel all tallied multi-hit games for the Stars while Anderson and Gindl combined to drive in five of Huntsville’s six runs.
The Stars remain one game back of the division-leading Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League North. They take on Tennessee in a huge five game series beginning Saturday night at 5:15 p.m. central time. Tune in to the Stars Radio Network beginning at 5:00 p.m. for the Window World Pre-Game Report. Michael Bowman (8-8, 5.28 ERA) takes on Chris Carpenter (7-5, 3.21 ERA).
Drew Anderson tied the Stars’ franchise record with his 71st career double, Caleb Gindl smacked a walk-off double off the leg of the pitcher, and the Huntsville Stars (24-17, 57-54) stunned the Carolina Mudcats (19-22, 49-61) in come-from-behind fashion by a final score of 6-5 Friday night.
Carolina got on the board with a solo home run off the bat of Dave Sappelt in the first. They’d tack on one more in the second thanks to a bases-loaded wild pitch uncorked by Stars’ starter Wily Peralta.
Peralta ran up a high pitch count, going only 4.1 innings, giving up six hits and two runs, both earned. He walked two and struck-out two. Peralta threw 93 pitches, 53 of them for strikes.
Meanwhile Huntsville gave him the lead in the fourth. Tom Cochran retired the first nine batters he faced, but that changed big time the second time around the order. Gindl drew a lead-off walk and Brett Lawrie played some small ball, reaching on a bunt single. Andy Machado lined a single up the gut to load the bases for Anderson. The slugger crushed his 15th double of the year, clearing the bases and launching himself into the Stars’ record books. It was Anderson’s 71st career double as a Star, tying him with Jason Wood for the most doubles in franchise history.
The 3-2 lead became a 4-2 lead when Lawrie doubled home Lee Haydel in the fifth.
Nick Green got the Stars out of a big jam in the fifth and worked a scoreless sixth inning. But the right-hander ran into trouble in the seventh.
With one away he walked Mike Costanzo and Luis Terrero followed with a single to right. Normally a visit to the mound from pitching coach John Curtis does wonders, not this time as Devin Mesoraco launched a three-run bomb to propel the Mudcats ahead by a score of 5-4. That was it for Green as Jim Henderson entered and got the final two outs of the inning.
The Stars finally got some offense going against reliever Bradley Boxberger in the ninth inning. Chris Nowak led-off with a single to center. Taylor Green came back from an 0-2 count to draw an eight-pitch walk. Mike Guerrero instructed Patrick Arlis to bunt the runners over and he did exactly that.
Then the Mudcats took a risk by intentionally walking Lee Haydel to get to the dangerous Zelous Wheeler. Wheeler was pinch hitting for pitcher Eddie Morlan and he looked a bit rusty as he struck-out, leaving it up to Gindl.
Caleb had not been having a good series, having gone 1-17 entering the AB. But the law of averages took over. Gindl lined a ball off the leg of Boxberger and the ball bounced into no-man’s land on the infield. Gindl improbably got a two-RBI double out of the play as Nowak and Green came around to score and the Stars walked off as winners again.
Morlan’s (2-2) scoreless ninth inning was good enough for the Win and Boxberger (1-2) took the loss.
Lawrie, Machado, and Haydel all tallied multi-hit games for the Stars while Anderson and Gindl combined to drive in five of Huntsville’s six runs.
The Stars remain one game back of the division-leading Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League North. They take on Tennessee in a huge five game series beginning Saturday night at 5:15 p.m. central time. Tune in to the Stars Radio Network beginning at 5:00 p.m. for the Window World Pre-Game Report. Michael Bowman (8-8, 5.28 ERA) takes on Chris Carpenter (7-5, 3.21 ERA).
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Buller provides the heroics as Stars walk-off in 13 innings
By Aaron Morse
Andre Lamontagne tossed six no-hit innings, but it was Dayton Buller who led the Stars to victory as he smashed a two-run walk-off home run in the 13th inning as Huntsville (23-17, 56-54) prevailed 5-3 over the Carolina Mudcats (19-21, 49-60) Thursday night.
Lamontagne was the story early in the game as he dominated the Mudcats. The second year pro out of Oral Roberts University retired the first 14 batters he faced before issuing back-to-back walks in the fifth inning. But a visit from pitching coach John Curtis settled him down and Lamontagne struck-out Carlos Mendez to end the inning.
He worked a 1-2-3 sixth frame and finished with a line of 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, and 5 K’s. Lamontagne threw 71 pitches, 47 of them for strikes. He got 10 ground-outs and two fly-outs in his second career Double-A start.
The only problem was that his opponent Scott Carroll was just as good. The former Purdue quarterback gave up a one-out double to Brett Lawrie in the first and that was pretty much it until the seventh inning.
Zelous Wheeler started things in the seventh with a single to right field. Drew Anderson reached first at the expense of Wheeler as he was forced out at second base. Chris Nowak ripped a double down the right field line; Luis Terrero had trouble handling the ball in the corner and would be charged with an error. Anderson scored on the play to make it 1-0 Stars but Nowak was not credited with a RBI. He advanced to third and Lee Haydel drove him home with a single to center.
The 2-0 lead looked to be quite safe. Lucas Luetge lost the no-hitter when he surrendered a double to Dave Sappelt. But he and Eddie Morlan provided the bridge to Robert Hinton in the ninth.
Hinton retired the first two batters he faced and it appeared that the Stars were on their way to a combined one-hitter. Sappelt ended those dreams when he singled to left. Terrero proceeded to surprise everyone by blasting his second homer of the year to tie the game at two.
It would remain that way until the 12th inning when Carolina got to Chris Cody for a run. Cody was his own worst enemy as he jumped ahead of Mike Costanzo 0-2 and ended up walking him. After making Devin Mesoraco look foolish on two straight pitches where Mesoraco’s bat went flying out of his hands; Cody hit him with a pitch that brushed his jersey. Sean Henry bunted the runners over and Brandon Yarbrough stroked a sacrifice fly to left. A strong throw from Haydel made the play at the plate bang-bang, but a good slide from Costanzo gave Carolina the 3-2 lead.
It wouldn’t last as Cody helped his own cause by smacking a single to left field to start the bottom half of the frame. Caleb Gindl bunted him to second and Brett Lawrie laced a triple to the right-center field gap to score Cody. It’s Lawrie’s league-leading 15th triple of the year. Unfortunately the Stars could not get him in from third as reliever Jerry Gil got two pop ups to end the inning.
Cody worked a 1-2-3 13th and was rewarded for his efforts in the bottom of the frame. Taylor Green stunned everyone as he laid down a perfect bunt against new pitcher Lee Tabor (3-1) that hugged the third base line until it hit the bag for an infield single. One out later Buller hit his second homer of the season to end the game and give Cody (6-7) and the Stars the dramatic victory.
Lawrie, Wheeler and Buller all tallied multi-hit games for the Stars.
The victory clinches the series for Huntsville. It’s the Stars’ third consecutive series win and sixth series victory out of their last seven. They didn’t gain any ground as the Smokies won as well so Huntsville remains one game back in the Southern League North Division.
Huntsville looks to take the series finale Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Wily Peralta (0-0, 1.50 ERA) will be making his third Double-A start. Join us on the Stars Radio Network beginning at 6:45 p.m. central time for the Window World Pre-Game Report.
Andre Lamontagne tossed six no-hit innings, but it was Dayton Buller who led the Stars to victory as he smashed a two-run walk-off home run in the 13th inning as Huntsville (23-17, 56-54) prevailed 5-3 over the Carolina Mudcats (19-21, 49-60) Thursday night.
Lamontagne was the story early in the game as he dominated the Mudcats. The second year pro out of Oral Roberts University retired the first 14 batters he faced before issuing back-to-back walks in the fifth inning. But a visit from pitching coach John Curtis settled him down and Lamontagne struck-out Carlos Mendez to end the inning.
He worked a 1-2-3 sixth frame and finished with a line of 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, and 5 K’s. Lamontagne threw 71 pitches, 47 of them for strikes. He got 10 ground-outs and two fly-outs in his second career Double-A start.
The only problem was that his opponent Scott Carroll was just as good. The former Purdue quarterback gave up a one-out double to Brett Lawrie in the first and that was pretty much it until the seventh inning.
Zelous Wheeler started things in the seventh with a single to right field. Drew Anderson reached first at the expense of Wheeler as he was forced out at second base. Chris Nowak ripped a double down the right field line; Luis Terrero had trouble handling the ball in the corner and would be charged with an error. Anderson scored on the play to make it 1-0 Stars but Nowak was not credited with a RBI. He advanced to third and Lee Haydel drove him home with a single to center.
The 2-0 lead looked to be quite safe. Lucas Luetge lost the no-hitter when he surrendered a double to Dave Sappelt. But he and Eddie Morlan provided the bridge to Robert Hinton in the ninth.
Hinton retired the first two batters he faced and it appeared that the Stars were on their way to a combined one-hitter. Sappelt ended those dreams when he singled to left. Terrero proceeded to surprise everyone by blasting his second homer of the year to tie the game at two.
It would remain that way until the 12th inning when Carolina got to Chris Cody for a run. Cody was his own worst enemy as he jumped ahead of Mike Costanzo 0-2 and ended up walking him. After making Devin Mesoraco look foolish on two straight pitches where Mesoraco’s bat went flying out of his hands; Cody hit him with a pitch that brushed his jersey. Sean Henry bunted the runners over and Brandon Yarbrough stroked a sacrifice fly to left. A strong throw from Haydel made the play at the plate bang-bang, but a good slide from Costanzo gave Carolina the 3-2 lead.
It wouldn’t last as Cody helped his own cause by smacking a single to left field to start the bottom half of the frame. Caleb Gindl bunted him to second and Brett Lawrie laced a triple to the right-center field gap to score Cody. It’s Lawrie’s league-leading 15th triple of the year. Unfortunately the Stars could not get him in from third as reliever Jerry Gil got two pop ups to end the inning.
Cody worked a 1-2-3 13th and was rewarded for his efforts in the bottom of the frame. Taylor Green stunned everyone as he laid down a perfect bunt against new pitcher Lee Tabor (3-1) that hugged the third base line until it hit the bag for an infield single. One out later Buller hit his second homer of the season to end the game and give Cody (6-7) and the Stars the dramatic victory.
Lawrie, Wheeler and Buller all tallied multi-hit games for the Stars.
The victory clinches the series for Huntsville. It’s the Stars’ third consecutive series win and sixth series victory out of their last seven. They didn’t gain any ground as the Smokies won as well so Huntsville remains one game back in the Southern League North Division.
Huntsville looks to take the series finale Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Wily Peralta (0-0, 1.50 ERA) will be making his third Double-A start. Join us on the Stars Radio Network beginning at 6:45 p.m. central time for the Window World Pre-Game Report.
Stars lose wild one against Mudcats
By Aaron Morse
The Huntsville Stars (22-17. 55-54) rallied from seven runs down to force extra innings but fell in 10 frames to the Carolina Mudcats (19-20, 49-59) by a final score of 10-9 Wednesday night.
The game started as a pitcher’s duel. Amaury Rivas retired the first 10 batters he faced while Carolina starter Matt Klinker sent down the first nine batters to come to the plate for the Stars.
Rivas walked Jake Kahaulelio in the fourth; then ran into some bad luck. Dave Sappelt hit a chopper up the middle that Zelous Wheeler gloved. It looked like the Stars were going to be able to turn two, but Brett Lawrie got in Wheeler’s way, preventing Wheeler from tagging the bag and everyone was safe. Wheeler’s failure to tag the bag was ruled an error. Luis Terrero made the Stars pay with a double down the left field line, drivin in Kahaulelio and moving Sappelt around to third. A ground-out scored Sappelt to make it 2-0 Mudcats. Eric Eymann followed with a single up the gut, scoring Terrero, but Eymann was cut down at second base to end the inning by Anderson De La Rosa as he attempted to advance on the throw to the plate.
Huntsville struck back against Klinker in the bottom of the frame as Lee Haydel led-off with a single and Lawrie doubled him home.
Rivas appeared to be on his way to an easy fifth inning as he retired the first two batters. Klinker was somehow able to loop a single in to shallow right and Kris Negron ripped a triple down the line to make the score 4-1 Carolina.
The sixth inning is when the game got crazy. Carolina loaded the bases against Rivas with nobody out. Eymann cleared the bases with a triple and just like that it was 7-1. That was it for Rivas as Mike Guerrero brought in Nick Green. An error by Chris Nowak on a sharply hit grounder to the right side scored Eymann and it was 8-1 Mudcats. Green got out of the rest of the inning with no further damage.
Rivas went 5+ innings, giving up eight runs, four of them earned, on seven hits. He walked two and struck-out eight.
The seven-run deficit seemed insurmountable considering Huntsville was facing the man with the best ERA in the Southern League. Yet they wasted no time rallying in the bottom half of the frame. Pinch hitter Patrick Arlis singled to left and Haydel drew a walk. Lawrie ripped his second double of the night, driving in Arlis and moving Haydel to third. A single to center off the bat of Zelous Wheeler scored Haydel and moved Lawrie to third base. Drew Anderson drew a walk and Klinker was removed from the ballgame.
New pitcher Ruben Medina immediately surrendered a RBI single to Chris Nowak and the Stars pulled to within four. With the bases still loaded, Taylor Green unleashed a grand slam home run to tie the game at eight.
No one would score again until the 10th inning. The Stars did have their fair share of chances though. They got the lead-off man on in the eighth and ninth but failed to score.
Carolina got to reliever Jim Henderson (4-4) in the 10th. With one away, the pesky Sappelt singled to center. Henderson struck-out Luis Terrero but on strike three Sappelt was able to steal second base. The right-hander was one strike away from getting out of the inning unscathed. Brandon Yarbrough wouldn’t let him though as he singled to center, driving in Sappelt to make the score 9-8 Carolina. Yarbrough advanced to second on the throw home. Eymann drew a walk and Jose Castro picked a perfect time to get his first hit of the night as he singled to center to drive in Yarbrough for a very important insurance run. Chris Cody entered and got the Stars out of the inning with no further damage.
Huntsville refused to go down quietly though against Carolina closer Federico Baez. Haydel started the rally with a single to center. One out later Wheeler blooped a singled down the line, advancing Haydel to third. Anderson drew his third walk of the contest, loading the bases for Nowak. The big slugger smacked a sacrifice fly to draw the Stars to within one.
Green, who already had a grand slam on the night, just missed an extra base hit as he still drove the ball a long ways towards right-center field despite breaking his bat. Unfortunately, Terrero was able to chase it down and the Stars fell one run short.
The loss breaks Huntsville’s five game winning streak and moves them one game back of the Tennessee Smokies in the north division.
They look to clinch the series against Carolina Thursday night as they send Andre Lamontagne (3-0, 2.76 ERA) to the mound. First pitch is at 7:00 p.m. central time on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network.
The Huntsville Stars (22-17. 55-54) rallied from seven runs down to force extra innings but fell in 10 frames to the Carolina Mudcats (19-20, 49-59) by a final score of 10-9 Wednesday night.
The game started as a pitcher’s duel. Amaury Rivas retired the first 10 batters he faced while Carolina starter Matt Klinker sent down the first nine batters to come to the plate for the Stars.
Rivas walked Jake Kahaulelio in the fourth; then ran into some bad luck. Dave Sappelt hit a chopper up the middle that Zelous Wheeler gloved. It looked like the Stars were going to be able to turn two, but Brett Lawrie got in Wheeler’s way, preventing Wheeler from tagging the bag and everyone was safe. Wheeler’s failure to tag the bag was ruled an error. Luis Terrero made the Stars pay with a double down the left field line, drivin in Kahaulelio and moving Sappelt around to third. A ground-out scored Sappelt to make it 2-0 Mudcats. Eric Eymann followed with a single up the gut, scoring Terrero, but Eymann was cut down at second base to end the inning by Anderson De La Rosa as he attempted to advance on the throw to the plate.
Huntsville struck back against Klinker in the bottom of the frame as Lee Haydel led-off with a single and Lawrie doubled him home.
Rivas appeared to be on his way to an easy fifth inning as he retired the first two batters. Klinker was somehow able to loop a single in to shallow right and Kris Negron ripped a triple down the line to make the score 4-1 Carolina.
The sixth inning is when the game got crazy. Carolina loaded the bases against Rivas with nobody out. Eymann cleared the bases with a triple and just like that it was 7-1. That was it for Rivas as Mike Guerrero brought in Nick Green. An error by Chris Nowak on a sharply hit grounder to the right side scored Eymann and it was 8-1 Mudcats. Green got out of the rest of the inning with no further damage.
Rivas went 5+ innings, giving up eight runs, four of them earned, on seven hits. He walked two and struck-out eight.
The seven-run deficit seemed insurmountable considering Huntsville was facing the man with the best ERA in the Southern League. Yet they wasted no time rallying in the bottom half of the frame. Pinch hitter Patrick Arlis singled to left and Haydel drew a walk. Lawrie ripped his second double of the night, driving in Arlis and moving Haydel to third. A single to center off the bat of Zelous Wheeler scored Haydel and moved Lawrie to third base. Drew Anderson drew a walk and Klinker was removed from the ballgame.
New pitcher Ruben Medina immediately surrendered a RBI single to Chris Nowak and the Stars pulled to within four. With the bases still loaded, Taylor Green unleashed a grand slam home run to tie the game at eight.
No one would score again until the 10th inning. The Stars did have their fair share of chances though. They got the lead-off man on in the eighth and ninth but failed to score.
Carolina got to reliever Jim Henderson (4-4) in the 10th. With one away, the pesky Sappelt singled to center. Henderson struck-out Luis Terrero but on strike three Sappelt was able to steal second base. The right-hander was one strike away from getting out of the inning unscathed. Brandon Yarbrough wouldn’t let him though as he singled to center, driving in Sappelt to make the score 9-8 Carolina. Yarbrough advanced to second on the throw home. Eymann drew a walk and Jose Castro picked a perfect time to get his first hit of the night as he singled to center to drive in Yarbrough for a very important insurance run. Chris Cody entered and got the Stars out of the inning with no further damage.
Huntsville refused to go down quietly though against Carolina closer Federico Baez. Haydel started the rally with a single to center. One out later Wheeler blooped a singled down the line, advancing Haydel to third. Anderson drew his third walk of the contest, loading the bases for Nowak. The big slugger smacked a sacrifice fly to draw the Stars to within one.
Green, who already had a grand slam on the night, just missed an extra base hit as he still drove the ball a long ways towards right-center field despite breaking his bat. Unfortunately, Terrero was able to chase it down and the Stars fell one run short.
The loss breaks Huntsville’s five game winning streak and moves them one game back of the Tennessee Smokies in the north division.
They look to clinch the series against Carolina Thursday night as they send Andre Lamontagne (3-0, 2.76 ERA) to the mound. First pitch is at 7:00 p.m. central time on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Talent and Experience
By Aaron Morse
It’s not often Double-A teams can brag about having both talent and experience in the middle of the order.
But the Huntsville Stars have been on fire recently because they have exactly that in Drew Anderson and Chris Nowak. Neither started the year with the Stars, but they have a good shot at finishing it in the Southern League Play-Offs.
“It helps to have guys who have been around to help some of the younger guys, to show them what it takes to prepare each and every day,” Anderson said. “It’s nice to have Chris behind you, you’re going to get some better pitches to hit; they don’t want to pitch around me too much knowing that Chris can swing it really well.”
In his last 10 games with Nowak batting behind him in the order, Anderson is hitting at a .342 clip. The 29-year old former Nebraska Cornhusker is not considered a prospect like Brett Lawrie and Caleb Gindl, but he’s the type of player every team needs if they want to make a run at the Southern League title.
Last year Anderson was a Southern League Mid-Season All-Star. This year he started the season in Triple-A Nashville before being reassigned to Huntsville on May 26. Initially he played first base but he went on the DL on June 11. Anderson was activated on June 26 and saw his playing time increase by leaps and bounds when Lorenzo Cain earned a promotion to Nashville on July 2. The Cain promotion opened up a spot in the outfield that Anderson has held down ever since.
He also brings major league experience to the table, having been called up in September of 2006 by the Brewers.
“It was awesome, it was the reason I’m still here now, just trying to get back,” Anderson said. “It was the pinnacle of my playing career so the goal is to try to find a way to get there and stay there.”
Anderson said the experience in the major leagues was worth every second of playing in the minor leagues.
He’s is a left-handed slugger (five homers in 43 games) who can hit lefties (.308 batting average vs. LHP), but it’s been the addition of Chris Nowak that has made Anderson’s presence in the middle of the order all that more valuable.
It was fortuitous for the Stars that the Rays’ organization released Nowak right about the same time first baseman Steffan Wilson went on the disabled list. The Stars picked up the 6’5’’ power hitting corner infielder right away.
“I was actually watching that game (when Wilson got hurt) and I’ve had that happen, a dislocated shoulder,” Nowak said. “I know it stinks but an opportunity came open for me so it’s kind of a blessing in disguise I guess.”
Since Nowak arrived in Huntsville on July 14, the Stars are 12-7 and he’s driven in 15 runs in the 18 games he’s played.
The 27-year old slugger had been with the Rays’ organization ever since they drafted him in the 19th round in 2004.
“They’d put me on the phantom roster, so I got the word out that I was probably going to be released in a couple days,” Nowak said. “The Brewers picked me up right away so it’s nice to stay in organized baseball with an organization as good as the Brewers.”
Whether veteran leadership in a game as individualized as baseball really matters is up for debate, but Nowak says it certainly doesn’t hurt.
“There’s a bunch of young guys on this team, to have some veteran guys in the clubhouse is definitely a plus,” Nowak said. “We’ve been there, done that, so hopefully we can bring a championship back here.”
If Nowak does help Anderson and the rest of the Stars bring a championship to Huntsville, it will be the height of irony. He was named the Southern League Championship Series’ MVP in 2007 when the Biscuits won the title.
Who was the opponent in that series?
You guessed it, the Huntsville Stars.
It’s not often Double-A teams can brag about having both talent and experience in the middle of the order.
But the Huntsville Stars have been on fire recently because they have exactly that in Drew Anderson and Chris Nowak. Neither started the year with the Stars, but they have a good shot at finishing it in the Southern League Play-Offs.
“It helps to have guys who have been around to help some of the younger guys, to show them what it takes to prepare each and every day,” Anderson said. “It’s nice to have Chris behind you, you’re going to get some better pitches to hit; they don’t want to pitch around me too much knowing that Chris can swing it really well.”
In his last 10 games with Nowak batting behind him in the order, Anderson is hitting at a .342 clip. The 29-year old former Nebraska Cornhusker is not considered a prospect like Brett Lawrie and Caleb Gindl, but he’s the type of player every team needs if they want to make a run at the Southern League title.
Last year Anderson was a Southern League Mid-Season All-Star. This year he started the season in Triple-A Nashville before being reassigned to Huntsville on May 26. Initially he played first base but he went on the DL on June 11. Anderson was activated on June 26 and saw his playing time increase by leaps and bounds when Lorenzo Cain earned a promotion to Nashville on July 2. The Cain promotion opened up a spot in the outfield that Anderson has held down ever since.
He also brings major league experience to the table, having been called up in September of 2006 by the Brewers.
“It was awesome, it was the reason I’m still here now, just trying to get back,” Anderson said. “It was the pinnacle of my playing career so the goal is to try to find a way to get there and stay there.”
Anderson said the experience in the major leagues was worth every second of playing in the minor leagues.
He’s is a left-handed slugger (five homers in 43 games) who can hit lefties (.308 batting average vs. LHP), but it’s been the addition of Chris Nowak that has made Anderson’s presence in the middle of the order all that more valuable.
It was fortuitous for the Stars that the Rays’ organization released Nowak right about the same time first baseman Steffan Wilson went on the disabled list. The Stars picked up the 6’5’’ power hitting corner infielder right away.
“I was actually watching that game (when Wilson got hurt) and I’ve had that happen, a dislocated shoulder,” Nowak said. “I know it stinks but an opportunity came open for me so it’s kind of a blessing in disguise I guess.”
Since Nowak arrived in Huntsville on July 14, the Stars are 12-7 and he’s driven in 15 runs in the 18 games he’s played.
The 27-year old slugger had been with the Rays’ organization ever since they drafted him in the 19th round in 2004.
“They’d put me on the phantom roster, so I got the word out that I was probably going to be released in a couple days,” Nowak said. “The Brewers picked me up right away so it’s nice to stay in organized baseball with an organization as good as the Brewers.”
Whether veteran leadership in a game as individualized as baseball really matters is up for debate, but Nowak says it certainly doesn’t hurt.
“There’s a bunch of young guys on this team, to have some veteran guys in the clubhouse is definitely a plus,” Nowak said. “We’ve been there, done that, so hopefully we can bring a championship back here.”
If Nowak does help Anderson and the rest of the Stars bring a championship to Huntsville, it will be the height of irony. He was named the Southern League Championship Series’ MVP in 2007 when the Biscuits won the title.
Who was the opponent in that series?
You guessed it, the Huntsville Stars.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Stars match their longest winning streak of the year with blowout win
By Aaron Morse
Drew Anderson tallied three hits, Mark Rogers went six strong innings, and the Huntsville Stars (22-16, 55-53) rolled to a 10-2 win over the Carolina Mudcats (18-20, 48-59) Tuesday night.
It’s the Stars’ fifth consecutive win, a feat they’ve accomplished only twice before in the 2010 season. With the victory the Stars move into a tie for first place atop the Southern League North Division with the Tennessee Smokies.
The game was close through the first six innings of action. Huntsville did jump out to a 3-0 lead against Mudcats’ starter James Avery (0-1) in the first. With one away Caleb Gindl singled to center. Zelous Wheeler followed with a single of his own and Anderson singled through the right side to load the bases. That’s when Chris Nowak laced a double down the left field line, driving in two and setting up Taylor Green who smacked a sacrifice fly to make the score 3-0 Stars.
The Mudcats chipped away at the deficit as they got one run in the third on a two-out Dave Sappelt RBI single. Sappelt delivered a two-out RBI triple in the fifth to cut the Stars’ lead to one.
But he proved to be the only Carolina hitter who could figure out Rogers. The former first round pick went six innings, scattering four hits, giving up two runs (both earned), walked only two and struck-out 10. The 10 strike-outs are the most by a Stars’ pitcher this season.
Nevertheless the game was close even after Nowak blasted his second homer as a Star in the sixth to extend the lead to 4-2.
That’s when Carolina’s defense fell apart. With two outs and Gindl on first via a walk, Anderson hit a blooper into shallow center field. Sappelt attempted to make a diving catch and the ball got slightly behind him. Anderson attempted to stretch the single in to a double and in his rush to try and throw Anderson out, Sappelt made a poor throw back to the infield. The ball squirted away from second base and Gindl came around to score. The error also advanced Anderson to third.
The saying is when it rains, it pours, and the Mudcats proved that when Nowak’s routine grounder went off the leg of shortstop Kris Negron, scoring Anderson and giving the Stars a 6-2 lead.
The good Stars offense and the bad Carolina defense continued in the eighth. With one out, Dayton Buller and pinch hitter Andy Machado singled. Brett Lawrie followed with his 25th double of the year, driving in Buller. After Gindl walked, Wheeler singled to right to drive in Machado. Mike Guerrero held Lawrie at third initially, but right fielder Sean Henry’s throw to the plate sailed to the backstop, allowing Lawrie to score. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Anderson completed the scoring onslaught, leaving the Stars ahead 10-2.
Huntsville looks to extend the winning streak Wednesday night and clinch the series with Carolina as well. They’ll send Amaury Rivas (10-5, 2.67 ERA) to the mound. Tune in on www.huntsvillestars.com beginning at 6:45 p.m. central time for the Window World Pre-Game Report.
Drew Anderson tallied three hits, Mark Rogers went six strong innings, and the Huntsville Stars (22-16, 55-53) rolled to a 10-2 win over the Carolina Mudcats (18-20, 48-59) Tuesday night.
It’s the Stars’ fifth consecutive win, a feat they’ve accomplished only twice before in the 2010 season. With the victory the Stars move into a tie for first place atop the Southern League North Division with the Tennessee Smokies.
The game was close through the first six innings of action. Huntsville did jump out to a 3-0 lead against Mudcats’ starter James Avery (0-1) in the first. With one away Caleb Gindl singled to center. Zelous Wheeler followed with a single of his own and Anderson singled through the right side to load the bases. That’s when Chris Nowak laced a double down the left field line, driving in two and setting up Taylor Green who smacked a sacrifice fly to make the score 3-0 Stars.
The Mudcats chipped away at the deficit as they got one run in the third on a two-out Dave Sappelt RBI single. Sappelt delivered a two-out RBI triple in the fifth to cut the Stars’ lead to one.
But he proved to be the only Carolina hitter who could figure out Rogers. The former first round pick went six innings, scattering four hits, giving up two runs (both earned), walked only two and struck-out 10. The 10 strike-outs are the most by a Stars’ pitcher this season.
Nevertheless the game was close even after Nowak blasted his second homer as a Star in the sixth to extend the lead to 4-2.
That’s when Carolina’s defense fell apart. With two outs and Gindl on first via a walk, Anderson hit a blooper into shallow center field. Sappelt attempted to make a diving catch and the ball got slightly behind him. Anderson attempted to stretch the single in to a double and in his rush to try and throw Anderson out, Sappelt made a poor throw back to the infield. The ball squirted away from second base and Gindl came around to score. The error also advanced Anderson to third.
The saying is when it rains, it pours, and the Mudcats proved that when Nowak’s routine grounder went off the leg of shortstop Kris Negron, scoring Anderson and giving the Stars a 6-2 lead.
The good Stars offense and the bad Carolina defense continued in the eighth. With one out, Dayton Buller and pinch hitter Andy Machado singled. Brett Lawrie followed with his 25th double of the year, driving in Buller. After Gindl walked, Wheeler singled to right to drive in Machado. Mike Guerrero held Lawrie at third initially, but right fielder Sean Henry’s throw to the plate sailed to the backstop, allowing Lawrie to score. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Anderson completed the scoring onslaught, leaving the Stars ahead 10-2.
Huntsville looks to extend the winning streak Wednesday night and clinch the series with Carolina as well. They’ll send Amaury Rivas (10-5, 2.67 ERA) to the mound. Tune in on www.huntsvillestars.com beginning at 6:45 p.m. central time for the Window World Pre-Game Report.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Stars shining brightly as they win fourth in a row
By Aaron Morse
Taylor Green smacked a walk-off two-run homer in the 13th and the Huntsville Stars (21-16, 54-53) won in come-from-behind fashion by a final score of 5-3 over the Carolina Mudcats (18-19, 48-58) Monday night.
It’s the Stars’ fourth straight win and second consecutive victory in extra frames. The win moves the Stars to within one game of first place in the Southern League North as the Tennessee Smokies lost to the Montgomery Biscuits by a final count of 4-3. Also, the Stars now have a winning record overall for the first time since May 22.
Carolina took the early 1-0 lead in the second as Sean Henry got things going against Stars’ starter Michael Bowman with a ground-rule double to the right-center field gap. After a grounder moved him to third, Chris Denove legged out an infield single, driving in Henry for the first run of the ballgame.
They kept the pressure on the Stars with runs in the fourth and the sixth. Luis Terrero led-off the fourth with a single to center. A Brett Lawrie error allowed the Mudcats to put runners at first and third with nobody out. Bowman proceeded to uncork a wild pitch and just like that it was 2-0.
Terrero also started the Mudcats’ offense in the sixth with a double to left. One out later Henry singled him in to extend the lead to 3-0.
Bowman pitched a fine game, going seven innings, scattering six hits giving up three runs (all earned), walking one and striking-out three.
It didn’t look like it’d be enough though until the Stars came roaring back in the seventh and eighth.
After being shut down by Mudcats’ starter Travis Webb for the first six frames, Huntsville got to reliever Bradley Boxberger in the seventh. Green drew a lead-off walk and advanced to second on a Lee Haydel single. Anderson De La Rosa singled to load the bases but pinch hitter Andy Machado popped out. Lawrie hit a grounder to second; the Mudcats got the lead runner for the second out. However, the hustling Lawrie beat the throw to first, driving in Green and cutting the deficit to two.
The eighth inning would be huge as Mudcats’ reliever Joseph Krebs couldn’t hold on to the lead. A Zelous Wheeler infield single was followed by a Drew Anderson two-run blast, knotting the game up at three.
From then on it was a battle of attrition as the Stars’ bullpen shined. Jim Henderson tossed an inning of shutout ball and Robert Hinton followed that up with two of his own.
It was Lucas Luetge (2-2) who emerged as the pitching star in extras though, as he tossed three shutout innings. Both teams had plenty of chances to take the lead as Carolina left nine men stranded and went 2-11 with men in scoring position. Meanwhile the Stars left 10 men on base and went 2-8 with men in scoring position.
It looked like the Mudcats would take the lead when they loaded the bases with two away in the 11th. Taylor Green had other ideas, making a great diving play on a grounder off the bat of Kris Negron, robbing him of a hit and ending the inning.
Green followed up his defensive heroics with the decisive two-run bomb in the bottom of the 13th off Mudcats’ reliever Jerry Gil (3-6). His homer scored Chris Nowak who had reached on an infield single to third.
Anderson, Nowak, and De La Rosa tallied multi-hit games and Anderson and Green each drove in two runs with their respective homers. The Stars managed to get the victory despite Lawrie and Caleb Gindl going a combined 0-12.
The four-game winning streak is one short of the Stars’ longest of the year.
They’ll look to get another win over the Mudcats Tuesday as Mark Rogers (4-7, 3.39 ERA) takes to the hill. Join us on www.huntsvillestars.com beginning at 6:45 p.m. central time for the Window World Pre-Game Report.
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.
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