Smokies comeback falls short in 6-4 loss to Huntsville

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.  – In game one of a five-game series against Huntsville, Tennessee spotted the home club six runs. The Smokies (52-47) made a furious comeback through the middle innings before the Stars’ (43-55) bullpen slammed the door shut.

Smokies’ starter Eric Jokisch ran into trouble right out of the gates. After a double play nullified a leadoff single, Rene Tosoni singled to center. The next batter, Jason Rogers, laced a double down the left field line that scored Tosoni and gave the Stars a 1-0 advantage after the first inning.

Huntsville catcher Adam Weisenburger blasted the first pitch of the second inning over the wall in left field to extend the lead to 2-0.

In the third inning, the Stars continued their early success as Jokisch walked Chadwin Stang to begin the inning. Stang stole second base and two batters later Tosoni lined a single to left field to bring in the third run of the game.

After turning in a scoreless inning in the fourth, Jokisch could not put another zero up in the fifth. After putting two men on base with two outs, Brock Kjeldgaard hammered the first pitch of his at-bat over the scoreboard in left field to put Huntsville on top 6-0 after five innings.

Tennessee had one hit entering the sixth inning. Matt Szczur singled following a Jokisch walk to put runners at the corners, and Arismendy Alcantara drove home Jokisch to get the Smokies on the board. Javier Baez took a 1-1 pitch over the fence in left field in the next at-bat, the fifth home run of the year for Baez, to cut the lead in half at 6-3.

The comeback continued for the visiting club when Christian Villanueva doubled to begin the seventh inning. Two batters later, John Andreoli split the gap in left field to pull the Smokies within two runs.

Jokisch (8-9, 3.61) tossed six innings allowing six earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

Dae-Eun Rhee (1-0, 1.93) will make his second start since returning from the disabled list for the Smokies while Hunstville counters with right-hander Andy Moye (0-3, 5.76). First pitch is slated for 7:43 p.m. from Joe W. Davis Municipal Stadium.

AUDIO RECAP STARS 6, SMOKIES 4

To stay current with all the latest news, follow Smokies on Radio on Twitter and like the Smokies on Radio Facebook page. Michael Wottreng is a Broadcast and Multimedia Assistant for the Smokies Radio Network. You can follow Michael on Twitter here: @MWottreng