Link Report for Games of Saturday, April 8th

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1

 

Hitting lets Stars and Thurman down

Pitcher making comeback solid but Huntsville loses

By MARK McCARTER

Huntsville Times Sports Staff, markcolumn@aol.com

 

PEARL, Miss. - Mapquest might try to disprove it, but this is halfway between Florence, Ky., and Toronto, Canada. At least it is for Stars pitcher Corey Thurman.

 

Thurman, a 27-year-old right-hander, is plotting a major comeback trip. "I've got to get back up there (to the big leagues),'' he said. Four innings of no-hit pitching, with five strikeouts and a devilish changeup, was a pretty good start.

 

"To be honest, I look at it as a steppingstone, getting back into the game, coming off this (shoulder) surgery,'' Thurman said. "I felt great just being out there, being in competition.''

 

Alas, Huntsville let a two-run lead go to waste and lost its first game of the season, a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Mississippi Braves Saturday. The Stars managed only two hits and despite the 2-1 mark are batting only .161 as a team, with 26 strikeouts, 10 Saturday night.

 

"It's still early,'' said manager Don Money. "We're OK as long as the guys don't start wracking their (heads) over it.''

 

The Stars and Braves play game four of the five-game series today at 1:05, then Huntsville opens its home season Tuesday at 7:05 against Birmingham.

 

For the third straight game, Huntsville took an early lead, this time on a Callix Crabbe two-run double after a pair of M-Braves errors extended the inning.

 

After Thurman's exit, the bullpen let the lead dissolve. Mike Meyers gave up two soft singles, then a double by Carl Loadenthal. That was followed by another hit, an error and poorly played fly, all leading to a five-run inning.

 

Meyers was charged with four earned runs. In 21 innings last season at Huntsville, over the course of 11 appearances, Meyers allowed a total of only four earned runs.

 

Before the game, while teammates watched the movie "Pure Country" on the clubhouse TV, Thurman was plugged into a headset, listening to Jagged Edge and some mellow music. "It calms me down,'' said Thurman, who admits to having "a football player mentality.''

 

He had rocketed through the Royals organization, then reached the majors with Toronto in 2002, pitching in 43 games. He pitched six more the following season.

 

Then his right shoulder went bad. He plummeted to the low minors, then eventually underwent surgery and had to hook on with the Florence (Ky.) Freedom of the independent Frontier League. The Brewers eventually gave him a contract.

 

"I want to take it day by day,'' Thurman said. "Hopefully my arm will stay healthy and I can have a good season.''

 

To be nitpicky, Thurman threw only four first-pitch strikes.

 

But, said pitching coach Rich Sauveur, "I'm real happy with what he did. We had a plan going out there, and he stuck to it and did a great job.''

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.wvgazette.com/section...2006040840

 

Delmarva edges Power 6-5

By Doug Smock

Char;eston Gazette Staff writer

 

Most of the West Virginia Power?s problems Saturday night ran through Delmarva leadoff hitter Lorenzo Scott, who began his season with a bang.

 

Scott, who didn?t play the first two games of the series, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored in the Shorebirds? 6-5 victory. About two-thirds of the announced 2,296 watched on a chilly night at Appalachian Power Park.

 

Scott caused the Power trouble in four of his five plate appearances.

 

In the first, he walked and was quickly doubled in by Stuart Musslewhite for the game?s first run. In the third, he hit an infield single, advancing to second when Kenny Holmberg threw to an uncovered base. He stole third, scoring when Angel Salome?s throw sailed down the left-field line. That put Delmarva up 2-0.

 

The Power had knotted the game at 4 when Scott doubled into the left-field bullpen, a difficult play for left-fielder Michael Brantley. That put Delmarva up 5-4.

 

The Power got that run back in the bottom of the seventh on a Holmberg single, a Mat Gamel double and a Salome single. Patrick Ryan (0-1) got himself out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the eighth, but had to face Scott to begin the ninth.

 

Scott doubled down into the left-field corner, then moved to third on a Musslewhite bunt. He scored the go-ahead run when a Ryan pitch caromed off the front of the plate and into the screen.

 

That set the table for James Hoey, who picked up his second save in as many nights. He gave up a leadoff single to Lorenzo Cain but struck out Gamel and Salome to end the threat. Blake Owen (1-0) picked up the win.

 

The Power opened its scoring in the first when Salome walked, stole second, went to third on a Nate Yoho single and scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth, RBI singles by Holmberg and Ned Yost tied the game at 4.

 

Will Inman started and pitched three innings plus one batter. He struck out six.

 

BRIEFLY: The Power returns to action at 2 p.m. today (1:00 Central), or as soon as possible after the 10:30 a.m. Marshall-Memphis game. The team then goes to Greensboro for four games before returning home for a three-game set with Lexington, beginning Friday. ... Holmberg?s 2-for-3 outing makes him 5-for-10 this series.

 

POWER POINTS: In Thursday?s season opener, Wheeler Bob sold $1,050 in programs and Alley Cat caps. The steady rain, however, forced many of the fans to seek shelter under the third-base canopy and elsewhere, making them less accessible to his sales pitch. Last year?s opener under ideal weather conditions was much more lucrative, he said. ... An ?Appalachian Power Park?? sign at the entrance at Brooks and Lewis streets was added in time for the season opener. ... Instead of showing a major-league game on the message board during Friday?s three rain delays, Power management chose the film ?King Kong.?? The rain delays, however, ended before King Kong scaled the Empire State Building.