Lookouts Fall to Stars...Again
Huntsville Leads the Series 2-1
The Chattanooga Lookouts and Huntsville Stars collectively accrued 25 hits with inefficient results in a 4-3 finish that ended with Stars the victor in Friday night action at AT&T Field.
Huntsville jumped on the board in the first on an RBI double from Drew T. Anderson; however, the Lookouts tied-up the score in the bottom of the second on an Eddy Perez solo shot.
The Stars broke the stalemate in the fifth with two runs. Back-to-back singles by J.R. Hopf and Yohannis Perez began the inning, and both runners advanced a base on a subsequent sacrifice bunt by Donovan Hand. Adam Stern followed with a single to center to score Hopf. Lookouts starting pitcher Jesus Castillo then shot himself in the foot by throwing a wild pitch, which resulted in Perez scampering home.
In the sixth frame, Kevin Melillo crushed a Francisco Felix offering over the Budweiser Pavilion to give the Stars a 4-1 lead.
The Lookouts came storming back in the eighth with a rally of their own. James Tomlin led off the rally with a single but was eliminated from the base paths on a Ramon Nivar force out at second. Nivar then proceeded to swipe his second base; his third steal of the game. After a Josh Bell ground out, which advanced Nivar to third, Lucas May walked to put runners at the corners. Andrew Lambo then ripped a single to left to plate Nivar. Perez followed with a double to right, scoring May. Russ Mitchell then walked to load the bases, but Justin Sellers anticlimactically flied out to right, leaving the Lookouts down 4-3.
The Lookouts could not muster a single baserunner in the ninth off of Mike McClendon, who earned his second save of the season by retiring the side.
Donovan Hand (7-2) built upon his already successful season by throwing seven innings of one-run ball for the Stars. He yielded nine hits and no walks, while striking out three.
Jesus Castillo dropped to 4-7 on the season for the Lookouts. In five inning of work, he surrendered three runs on nine hits and one walk. He struck out two in the losing effort.
