Link Report for Wed. 7/21 -- Doubles Record for Beloit

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

 

For the second time in three games, one swing from Josh Barfield made the difference. Barfield?s two-run homerun was the decisive blow in Mobile?s 5-2 win over Huntsville on Wednesday night at Hank Aaron Stadium. The Stars (14-11, 46-49) lost their third in a row to the Bay Bears (11-14, 51-44) and fell one game behind Birmingham in the Southern League West second-half standings.

 

On Monday night, Barfield?s two-run blast provided all of the Bears' offense in a 2-1 victory. Wednesday, Barfield?s bomb capped the Bay Bears? three-run first. With two outs, Ben Johnson doubled deep to left and Greg Sain singled Johnson home. On a 3-1 pitch from Jeff Housman, Barfield hit a monstrous homerun that carried the hillside beyond the leftfield wall. The two-run shot, Barfield?s seventh against Huntsville and 15th of the season, gave Mobile a 3-0 lead.

 

?Barfield?s just a good hitter,? Stars hitting instructor Sandy Guerrero said. ?He?s patient, he waits for his pitches. Plus, he?s got a good swing, short, quick. You don?t want to miss up in the zone because he?ll get you. That?s all he?s looking for, pitchers? mistakes.?

 

An unearned run put Mobile up 4-0 in the second, then Huntsville rallied for two in the third. Rickie Weeks singled, took second on Tony Gwynn Jr.?s drag-bunt single, and both runners advanced a base on first baseman Greg Sain?s throwing error. Prince Fielder?s sacrifice fly scored Weeks, and Jamie Gann plated Gwynn with a two-out single. The Bears got their final run when home plate was left uncovered in the seventh.

 

Greg Ribas (1-3) grabbed his first Southern League win, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts over five innings. Jeff Housman (4-6) suffered his first loss in July, surrendering four runs, three earned, on five hits and three walks while fanning six in five innings. Rene Miniel, Jack Cassel, R.D. Spiehs and Brad Baker each authored a scoreless inning for Mobile, with Baker recording his 23rd save. Star Roberto Giron threw a shutout frame, fanning the side in the sixth. Paul Stewart gave up one run on one hit with no walks and no strikeouts in one inning. John Novinsky walked one in a scoreless eighth.

 

Stars righty Glenn Woolard (2-0, 3.41) meets the Bears? all-star right-hander Chris Rojas (7-4, 3.36) in the series finale on Thursday night at Hank Aaron Stadium. Game time is 7:05 p.m. and the FPH Financial Services Pre-game Show starts at 6:50 p.m. Stars baseball can be heard on ESPN 1450 and www.huntsvillestars.com.

[MassBrew]

Beloit Game Summary from the Cedar Rapids Site:

 

Beloit tied the Midwest League record for doubles in a game Wednesday night, rapping out 10 in a 10-0 rout of the Kernels before a crowd of 2,619 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The loss was the second straight for the Kernels (13-13 second half, 55-40 overall) against Beloit (12-14, 50-46). The Kernels also were blanked for the second straight night and fifth of the season. They have not scored in the last 20 innings.

 

Beloit has collected 16 doubles in the past two games against the Kernels. The Snappers had 14 hits Wednesday, bringing their two-game total to 23.

 

Wandel Campana?s two-out double in the bottom of the ninth inning tied the Midwest League record for doubles in a game. South Bend set the record on July 23, 2000.

 

Campana and Manuel Ramirez had three doubles apiece. Ramirez also scored three runs and drove in two. Campana had four hits and drove in three runs. Terry Trofholz had two doubles.

 

Beloit scored two runs in each of the second and third innings, and three in each of the sixth and seventh innings.

 

Chris Hunter (6-4) took the loss for the Kernels. He gave up nine hits and seven runs in 5.2 innings.

 

The Kernels had only five hits. Brandon Wood had two of them. Baltazar Lopez singled with two outs in the ninth, extending his hitting streak to eight games.

 

Mitch Stetter (4-0) picked up the win, limiting the Kernels to two hits in five innings and striking out six.

[Danagger]

is it just me or does Josh Barfield have 13 of his 15 homers against the Stars in the last month...?

[Danagger]

No, being from Latin America Hernan needs to get acclimated to the weather of SW USA before he can move on...? He needs to be hitting .600 before a move will be made, this will prove he's adapted.

[huntsvillefan]

is it just me or does Josh Barfield have 13 of his 15 homers against the Stars in the last month...?

 

7 of them are against us (I think). I sometimes wonder if playing against Rickie makes him extra competitive!

[MassBrew]

Daily Press High Desert Game Story:

 

Mavs fall short of four straight

Lancaster rallies, ends High Desert's win streak

By TIM HARAN/Staff Writer

 

ADELANTO ? The High Desert Mavericks' offensive surge from the previous night carried through the first inning Wednesday.

 

Then it came to a screeching halt.

 

The Mavs, who were looking to win four straight games for the first time since May of 2002, jumped to a quick four-run lead before the bats went silent. The JetHawks rallied to edge High Desert 6-5 at Mavericks Stadium.

 

"They made some miscues and gave us an opportunity," High Desert manager Mel Queen said. "Luckily we took advantage of it. But we couldn't make it home."

 

High Desert starter Bo Hall (4-7), who struck out a career high 10, surrendered a leadoff triple in the top of the seventh to Phil Avlas. The High Desert right-hander was pulled two batters later after the Lancaster catcher scored on a sacrifice fly, giving the JetHawks their first lead of the series.

 

"I kept them off balance, throwing my curve ball for strikes, which helped me out a lot," Hall said. "I feel like I made one bad pitch, and that was to Avlas."

 

For the JetHawks, Enrique Gonzalez (9-5) allowed four unearned runs in six innings and picked up the win.

 

"He was throwing pretty good tonight," Queen said. He's always pitched well against us."

 

High Desert (10-16), which scored 14 runs in the final two innings of Tuesday's lopsided victory, took advantage of two Lancaster errors and loaded the bases in the bottom of the first on Wednesday.

 

Center fielder Kennard Bibbs scored when Avlas dropped a throw to the plate. Two batters later, Troy Farnsworth cleared the bases with a two-out double down the left field line. With the hit, Farnsworth improved to 4-for-5 with the bases loaded and has knocked in 15 runs.

 

It didn't take long for Lancaster to counter. A wild pitch by Hall in the second inning gave the JetHawks their first run of the game.

 

But the real damage came in the fifth. With two outs, Jarred Ball singled to drive in a run and Danny Richar launched a two-run, opposite field homer to tie the game at 4-4.

 

"I made a good pitch, he hit it out, you tip your hat to him," Hall said.

 

Lancaster's (15-10) Jay Garthwaite provided the JetHawks breathing room, knocking a two-out solo home run in the eighth off Mavs' reliever Eric Henderson.

 

High Desert narrowed the deficit in its half of the inning. Travis Hinton led off the eighth with a double to left field. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored after a Farnsworth grounder rolled under the glove of shortstop Richar.

 

Though the Mavs failed to claim their fourth straight victory, the team remains upbeat about the way its playing.

 

"We go out and win three for the first time all year, which gives us some confidence," Hall said. "And we played pretty well tonight, we just didn't come out on top."

 

"We've played three good games," Queen said. "We'll go out there and play another good game tomorrow."

 

Aaron J.H. Walker / Victor Valley Daily Press Staff Photographer

High Desert's Enrique Cruz waits for the call at second after Lancaster's Steve Garrabrants attempted to steal. Garrabrants was safe.

 

http://www.vvdailypress.com/storypics2/072204_mavs.jpg