Stars Stay Hot, Win Second Half Opener
June 18, 2003 - Southern League (SL1)
Huntsville Stars News Release
Greenville, SC â The Stars continued their hot play in the Southern League second-half opener, beating the G-Braves, 4-2, on Wednesday night at Greenville Municipal Stadium. Huntsville (1-0, 41-28) has won five of its last six games, while Greenville (0-1, 36-33) lost for just the fifth time in its last 17 games.
Stars reliever Ken Ray picked up his second win with his best performance of the season. Ray delivered four shutout innings in place of starter Jeff Robinson, who left after two innings with shoulder tightness. Ray (2-0) allowed just two hits and no walks while fanning two. No Braves runner advanced past first base against Ray.
Huntsville's offense was aggressive early, jumping on left Chris Waters for a first-inning run. Chris Barnwell ripped a double off the base of the leftfield wall, extending his hitting streak to seven games. After J.J. Hardy singled him to third, Barnwell scored on Corey Hart's sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead.
In the fourth, Hart led off with a ringing double to left and took third on Brandon Gemoll's infield single. Gemoll was thrown out trying to advance to second on a pitch in the dirt, then Noochie Varner followed with a chopper over the mound, and G-Braves second baseman Richard Lewis fired late to the plate as Hart scored from third with a straight-in slide.
Leading 2-0 in the sixth, Huntsville rallied for two more runs. Hart led off with a walk and Gemoll singled, then Varner doubled home Hart. With runners at second and third, Daryl Clark singled in Gemoll for a 4-0 Stars lead.
"I'm very happy with how we swung the bats," Huntsville hitting instructor Sandy Guerrero said, "especially since we didn't do anything on the off-day and only had eight swings in the cage before the game. It looked like we didn't have any time off.
Matt Childers notched his sixth save with two innings of relief, permitting one run on one hit and three walks while striking out two. Childers fanned pinch-hitter J.C. Boscan with the tying run in scoring position to end the game. Ryan Miller pitched one inning out of the Stars bullpen, giving up one run on two hits with one strikeout. Robinson tossed two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk before exiting the game with shoulder tightness.
In Thursday's game two of the series, Huntsville sends lefty Luis Martinez (6-4, 2.33) against G-Brave righty Adam Wainwright (5-3, 2.88). Game time is 6:15 p.m. CT. The Bill Penney Toyota Pre-game Show starts at 6:00 p.m. CT. Stars baseball can be heard on Jammin' 1550 WLOR, ESPN 1450 WTKI and at www.huntsvillestars.com.
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Southern League Stories from June 18, 2003
- Stars Stay Hot, Win Second Half Opener - Huntsville Stars
- Stars Continue to Sizzle, Edge G-Braves - Mississippi Braves
- Suns fall short in second half opener - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Smokies Out-Duel Suns - Knoxville Smokies
- Rays -Barons Rained Out - Orlando Rays
- Smokies to Host Mock Spring Training July 7th and 8th - Knoxville Smokies
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