The Mississippi Braves are hanging around in the crowded Southern League South Division, but are finding it hard to gain any traction.

Drew Anderson doubled twice, scored twice and drove in two runs, while Michael Bowman threw six shutout innings as the Huntsville Stars beat the M-Braves 6-0 on Wednesday night.

Anderson scored on a single by Chris Nowak in the second inning, then drew a bases-loaded walk in the third to give Huntsville a 2-0 lead. Nowak drove in another run in the fifth with a sacrifice fly, sparking a three-run rally that blew the game open.

Mauro Gomez went 2-for-3 for the M-Braves, but the rest of the team managed only two hits. Bowman (8-8) walked four and struck out two in his six-inning stint, then two relievers finished the shutout.

It was the third straight loss for the M-Braves, and fifth in sixth games. They fell to 15-17 in the second half and are in fourth place, yet remain 3 1/2 games back of Mobile in a division where no one has been able to pull away.

The M-Braves have four more games in Huntsville before returning home to play Mobile in a four-game series Aug. 2-6.