Mudcats allow two homers in 5-3 loss

ZEBULON, N.C. - Buies Creek outfielder Stephen Wrenn scored twice and had three hits, including a go-ahead, two-run home run in the seventh while leading the Astros to a 5-3 victory against the Mudcats at Five County Stadium on Friday night.

Wrenn was 3-for-5 overall with single and a run in the fourth and a two-run home run that broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning. The home run was his fourth of the season and the second in the game for the Astros (56-42, 19-9). Anthony Hermelyn also hit a home run in the second and was 1-for-4 in the game for Buies Creek.
The Astros led for most of the game after getting Hermelyn's solo shot in the second and then two more runs in the fourth on a RBI double by Yordan Alavarez and a sacrifice fly from Jake Rogers. 
Trey Supak started for the Mudcats (48-48, 12-16) and worked into the fifth before Conor Harber took over out of the bullpen. Harber (2-7, 5.40) escaped a bases loaded jam in the fifth, but later allowed Wrenn's two-run home run while suffering the loss.
Carolina trailed early in the game after falling behind 3-0 in the fourth, but Lucas Erceg brought his club back with a two-out, two-run double in the fourth. The Mudcats then tied the game in the fifth when Cooper Hummel managed to score from third on a fielder's choice by catching Jake Rogers during a strikeout of Troy Stokes Jr.
Erceg was 1-for-3 with two RBIs in the game for Carolina. His two-run double in the fourth cut his club's deficit down to 3-2 and brought his season RBI total to a team high 51 this year.
Forrest Whitley started for the Astros and opened his outing with three straight strikeouts in the first. He also struck out two in the second and finished with seven strikeouts over thee and 2/3 innings pitched. 
Erceg's double in the fourth knocked Whitley out of the game, but reliever Erasmo Pinales followed and managed to hold the Mudcats to just one run and one hit the rest of the way while earning the victory.
Pinales (1-0, 3.68) struck out five, walked two and allowed just one run in the victory. He lost a 3-2 lead in the fifth, but remained in the game through the seventh and left with a 5-3 advantage.
Sean Stutzman pitched the final two frames for the Astros and earned the save after holding without a hit over two scoreless innings. Stutzman (S, 1) also struck out three, including a strikeout of Luis Aviles Jr. in the ninth with two men on base.
Carolina left two in the ninth and stranded six overall in the loss. They also finished the game just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position while leaving runners in scoring position in the fourth, fifth and ninth innings. The Mudcats also combined to strike out 15 times in the loss.
The loss was Carolina's third straight and dropped them to 7.0 games back of first in the second half standings. The Astros improved to 19-9 in the second half and took a two games to none in the four game series with the victory.
UP NEXT: The Mudcats and Astros will continue the series on Saturday night at Buies Creek with the first pitch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Jim Perry Stadium. The series was scheduled as a home/away split for the clubs with the first two games held at Five County Stadium and the final half at Buies Creek. The game will air on the Mudcats Radio Network, The Big Dawg 98.5 FM and online at carolinamudcats.com via TuneIn Radio.
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