Stars Drop Third Straight, 5-4

July 20, 2003 - Southern League (SL1)
Huntsville Stars News Release


Huntsville, AL – West Tenn raced to a 4-0 lead and held on for a 5-4 victory on Saturday night at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars (13-13, 53-41) lost their third straight game and dropped into fourth place in the Southern League West second-half race, 1½ games out of first.

The Diamond Jaxx reached all-star lefty Luis Martinez for three first-inning runs. With one out, Aron Weston singed and reached second when Daryl Clark juggled the ball in left. Weston promptly stole third and Brendon Harris walked. Jason Dubois grounded to third to score a run, advancing Harris to second. Mike Dzurilla, coming off Friday's three-hit performance, ripped a run-scoring double to right. Jackson Melian, a former Star, singled home Dzurilla for a 3-0 Jaxx lead.

Down 4-0 in the fourth, Huntsville clubbed four straight hits against Jaxx starter Jon Leicester. J.J. Hardy raked a one-out double down the leftfield line, and Corey Hart singled him to third. Brandon Gemoll followed up Friday's monster homerun with a two-run double deep to left-centerfield. Noochie Varner doubled into the leftfield corner, scoring Gemoll to pull Huntsville within 4-3.

West Tenn scored a key insurance run in the fifth with the help of two Stars errors. Weston led off with a walk, and two outs later he tried to steal second. Catcher Kade Johnson's throw skipped into centerfield, where Dave Krynzel backed up the play and tried to gun down Weston at third. Krynzel's throw hit Weston in the back as he slid, and the ball bounced toward the dugout. Weston leapt to his feet and sped home, giving the Jaxx a 5-3 lead.

Huntsville responded by loading the bases with one out in the eighth. Corey Hart hit a ground ball to third, forcing out Hardy at second, but Hart beat the relay to first, scoring Ryan Gripp to make it 5-4. With runners at first and third, Varner broke his bat on a lineout to pitcher Emanuel Ramires to end the threat.

Leicester (4-3) grabbed the win, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts in six innings. Martinez (8-5) suffered the loss, surrendering five runs, four earned, on six hits and four walks while fanning three in six innings. Jason Karnuth saved his eighth game, working a perfect ninth.

Huntsville and West Tenn play a doubleheader Sunday at 5:05 p.m. at the Joe.

Lefty Jeff Housman and righty Jason Shelley make their Huntsville and double-A debuts against Jaxx right-hander Jae-Kuk Ryu (1-0, 4.97) and lefty Felix Sanchez (1-0, 3.58), respectively. Sanmina SCI presents the 3rd Annual Ballpark 3K Run between games of the doubleheader.



Southern League Stories from July 20, 2003


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