BY JOSH HOUCHINS

Herald-Whig Sports Writer

The show the Quincy Gems wanted to provide for a jam-packed Independence Day crowd turned into a folly instead of an action thriller.

Committing two errors, hitting a batter and watching Danville bat around in the top of the third inning put the Central Illinois Collegiate League contest away early, as the Dans cruised to a 16-8 win at QU-Stadium.

The loss halts Quincy's minuscule two-game win streak, as the Dans plated multiple runs in four innings, compared to only one for the Gems.

It was a night the Gems would like to forget.

"All it is is trying our hardest every day we come out," said Gems shortstop Jon Myers, referring to the inability to prolong the win streak. "Everybody is a little tired and beat up right now, but we just have to fight through it. We made some mistakes tonight and when we did that, we found ourselves forced to dig the entire night."

Myers, who connected on his CICL-leading seventh home run in the second, teamed with Alex Acheson by each going 3 for 5. Acheson also homered, a solo shot in the seventh.

"You're always trying to find that big win streak," Gems manager Chris Martin said. "We just didn't come out throwing the ball well tonight ... way too many walks. You can't give a team that many opportunities. It was an ugly game. That simple."

The nine walks by Quincy pitchers ties a season high, as the Gems (10-13) also walked nine in a 16-3 loss at Dubois County on June 8.

The two losses also share a season-high 19 hits by the opposition, something Martin knows his pitchers must work on.

"We can't be afraid to pitch to contact," Martin said. "We are struggling because we give batters free passes without earning it. You will have a hard time winning when the other team can pick and choose for pitches."

Shane Zegarac (0-3) suffered his third straight loss, surrendering eight runs -- two earned -- on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings. The lefty also walked three, giving him 17 on the season in only 18 2/3 innings.

The remaining group of relievers didn't fare much better, as Matt Douglas, Jesse Martin and Kasey Kearcher combined to allow seven runs on 12 hits.

After the Dans (9-12) jumped out to a 2-0 lead on an RBI single by Tyler Park and a subsequent throwing error by Myers, the Quincy shortstop sent an outside pitch over the opposite rightfield wall to cut the lead in half.

But the game fell apart for the Gems in the third, when Danville used six hits, two walks, two errors and a hit batter to go up 8-1.

"We came out really slow tonight," Myers said.

Thanks to poor Danville defense, the Gems posted single runs in the third, fourth and fifth to cut the deficit to 11-4 after Danville's Andrew Pollak smashed a three-run bomb in the top of the fifth.

Quincy fought back with three runs in the bottom of the seventh on Acheson's first home run of the year, an RBI double by Michael Adamson and a groundout by Andy Petz.

"We had two or three chances in the game to pull that game within a couple of runs or even tie it and we couldn't," Martin said. "Last night (Danville's) errors were when we already had guys on base and we scored off them. Tonight, they put us on with errors and we couldn't drive them in."

The Gems are back in action tonight at QU-Stadium, as they look to get their first win in eight tries against first-place Springfield (18-4). Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.

--sports@whig.com / 221-3365