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DiFelice Does the Job in Relief

June 4, 2007 - Southern League (SL1)
Huntsville Stars News Release


Mark DiFelice threw four scoreless innings in relief to preserve a tenuous one-run lead, as a five-run first inning stood up in Huntsville's 6-5 win over Chattanooga Monday night in the middle game of a five-game set at AT&T Field. The Stars won for a fifth time in the last six games to improve to 31-25 on the season and maintained at least a share of first place in the North Division, pending the outcome of Tennessee's game tonight against Birmingham, while the Lookouts fell to 25-33 and seven games off the pace. The Stars have won five of the eight games between the teams, including three of the four games decided by one run.

Huntsville jumped on Lookouts' starter James Avery for five first inning runs, the second time the Stars have tallied five times in the first in their last eight games. Lou Palmisano and Brendan Katin delivered run-scoring singles, Adam Heether added a two-run double and scored on a Yohannis Perez sacrifice fly to complete the uprising. Steve Sollmann's run-scoring single in the second chased home Hernan Iribarren to give the visitors a 6-0 edge. Avery was taken out after four innings and charged with the loss after yielding six runs on seven hits and a pair of walks. He has now permitted 19 runs, 17 earned, on 25 hits over 13 innings in his last three starts.

Corey Thurman tossed three scoreless frames in his first start of the season before Tyrell Godwin led off the fourth inning with a home run, his second with the Lookouts, to trim the visitors lead to 6-1. It was the sixth long ball allowed by Thurman this season and the fourth that led off an inning. Thurman walked the next two hitters and was taken out of the game and replaced by David Johnson, who was making his double-A debut. Cody Strait walloped his second pitch over the wall in left field for a three-run homer that cut the lead to 6-4. Luis Bolivar then tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Tonys Gutierrez that sliced the visitors lead to just one.

Johnson got through the fifth unscathed and was taken out of the game after a leadoff double by Ryan Hanigan in the sixth and replaced by DiFelice. The veteran got Strait to fly out to right to move Hanigan to third with the potential tying run. Bolivar missed on a squeeze bunt attempt and Hanigan was tagged out by catcher Lou Palmisano for the second out of the frame. DiFelice fanned Bolivar to end the inning and retired the side in order in the seventh. He worked around a leadoff single by Paul Janish in the eighth and set down the home side in order in the ninth, fittingly striking out Marland Williams to end the game, to earn his third win of the season. The four innings worked by DiFelice represent the longest outing by a Stars' reliever this season and the sixth time this season in 19 outings he has thrown at least three innings.

The series continues Tuesday night when the Stars will send southpaw Steve Hammond to the hill against Lookouts' right-hander Carlos Fisher. Coverage of the game begins at 6:00 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.



Southern League Stories from June 4, 2007


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