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Huntsville handcuffs Biscuits at the plate

By A. Stacy Long

Montgomery Advertiser

 

The Montgomery Biscuits aggressively took their cuts Wednesday against Huntsville's Jeff Housman.

 

The Biscuits also quickly returned to the dugout.

 

Housman gave up a first-inning run, then faced the minimum for the next six innings in the Stars' 7-1 win at Riverwalk Stadium.

 

Montgomery totaled eight hits against Housman and reliever Stephen Bray. The Biscuits erased four with double plays.

 

"I didn't think we swung at bad pitches. We swung at strikes and didn't get many hits," Montgomery manager Charlie Montoyo said.

 

The Biscuits have reversed themselves from a quick start to the season.

 

Montgomery was 6-1 -- and has gone 1-6 since with an offense that has rung up 17 runs in that span.

 

"I expect us to start swinging the bats pretty good," Montoyo said. "I'm confident we're going to start swinging the bats better."

 

On Wednesday, the Biscuits just swung.

 

Housman (1-1) threw 79 pitches in his seven innings and barely reached the mound twice before leaving it.

 

The left-hander followed Huntsville's five-run top of the fourth with a five-pitch bottom of the inning.

 

Right after the Stars added two runs in the seventh, Housman needed seven pitches to retire the Biscuits. He also had two 10-pitch innings.

 

"I got lucky and they were aggressive," Housman said. "With our defense, it can be kind of easy. You want to get the ball to them as quickly as possible."

 

Housman allowed five hits and walked none over seven innings. He threw 58 strikes.

 

"He went right after the hitters," Huntsville manager Don Money said.

 

In the fourth, things went right with the Stars holding bats.

 

Montgomery starter Chuck Tiffany (0-1) gave up two hits, one on a bunt, in the first three innings, then mightily struggled.

 

After a leadoff out, Huntsville had five straight hits off Tiffany, including home runs on back-to-back pitches.

 

Steve Moss' three-run homer and Jeff Eure's blast made it 4-1. Kennard Bibbs followed with a single and came around on a steal, an error and a passed ball.

 

Eure added a two-run single in the seventh.

 

"One second you can seem awesome and, the next, everything goes away," Tiffany said. "I didn't really have my best stuff, but I did everything I could to compete.

 

"I was up in the zone a little today and it hurt me in the fourth. They got a hold of them."