Biscuits Collapse Complete with Fourth Straight Loss

[Game recap from Joe Davis of the Montgomery Biscuits.]

HUNTSVILLE, AL – Beginning Sunday’s action in Huntsville, the Biscuits needed one of two things to happen to clinch a first-half championship – a win themselves, or a Jacksonville loss. The Suns took care of business, and the Biscuits completed one of the worst collapses in recent memory falling to the Stars 4-3.

The Biscuits finished first half losing five of six, and on their second four-game losing streak of the season to finish a game behind the Suns in the South. They committed three errors in the game (and 14 in the four-game losing-streak), and left ten men on base.

The Biscuits struck first with back-to-back doubles from John Matulia and Cody Cipriano to begin the fifth inning. Emeel Salem singled home Cipriano to make it 2-0. The Stars, though, countered with two unearned runs against Alex Cobb in the bottom-half to tie it at 2-2.

Matt Fields broke the tie in the sixth with a solo-homer to right-center field, but, again, the Stars wasted no time in responded. A bottom of the six kept alive extended because of an error ended with a two-out, game-tying single from backup catcher Sean McCraw.

The winning run for the Stars off of Darin Downs in the seventh was their only earned run of the afternoon, getting a leadoff double from Zelous Wheeler and a one-out, RBI-single from Caleb Gindl.

Downs (6-2) took the loss in 2.1 relief innings. Cobb allowed two unearned tallies on six hits and two walks over 4.2 in a no-decision. Huntsville starter Chris Cody also took a no-decision, allowing two runs over five innings. The winner for the Stars was Lucas Luetge (1-0), who pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings in relief.

The Biscuits had their chances in the ballgame, stranding runners in all but two innings. In the eighth, Cipriano doubled with one out but was left at second. The Biscuits went down in order against Jim Henderson (1) in the ninth.

Cipriano led the Biscuits with a 3-4 day.

The Biscuits will begin the second-half on Tuesday at Riverwalk, starting a six-game set against the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. LHP Alex Torres will throw for the Biscuits at 7:05.