CarL1 Salem RidgeYaks

Hillcats Win 8-7 to Garner Mills Cup

Published on September 17, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem RidgeYaks News Release


Salem, VA (September 17, 2009) - The Lynchburg Hillcats used a six-run second inning to jump ahead and held on by the slimmest of margins in the ninth to defeat Salem 8-7 and sweep the Red Sox to win the 2009 Carolina League Championship. Salem scored one in the bottom of the ninth and had two runners in scoring position with two out when Ronald Uviedo induced a Zach Borowiak ground-out to second. Chase d'Arnoud fired to Matt Hague at first base to end the game and the Hillcats immediately erupted into a euphoric celebration. The title is the sixth Carolina League Crown for the city of Lynchburg and the first since 2002.

Salem finishes 2009 with 70 wins and 75 losses, but swept through the first round of the playoffs against Winston-Salem to earn a Southern Division Championship. The Sox had leads in all three Mills Cup contests, but Lynchburg outplayed Salem when it mattered to win the league.

Game three featured 11 runs in the first two innings from both teams, as Salem leapt out to a 3-1 lead in the first thanks to a bases-loaded single from Mike Jones and a sac fly from Tim Federowicz, but Lynchburg stormed ahead to a 7-3 edge thanks to six runs on three hits, two errors, a walk, and a strikeout wild pitch. Both starters, Kyle Weiland and Jeff Locke, had great track records against the opponent, but neither made it out of the second inning.

With the score 7-4 after two and both teams into the bullpen, things settled down and Lynchburg clung to their lead. The Hillcats added a single tally in the fourth off Dave McKae when Josh Harrison scored on Jamie Romak's single. Harrison was in position to score because of Jordy Mercer's second double of the ballgame that had moved him to third base. Mercer finished 4-5 to carry the Hillcat offense, while Romak went 3-4 from the cleanup spot.

Salem trailed 8-4 but cut the deficit in half with an impressive two-run homer by Ryan Dent in the last of the sixth. Later in the inning, with Che-Hsuan Lin at first base, Anthony Rizzo belted a screaming line drive to deep left field, but a sensational running and leaping catch by Alex Presley robbed Salem of a chance to narrow the gap.

It remained 8-6 into the ninth and Ramon Aguero, who had thrown two scoreless innings already, attempted to complete the ballgame for the Hillcats. But after striking out Rizzo to start the frame, Aguero walked Brad Correll and yielded singles to Mike Jones and Tim Federowicz. With Correll scoring on Federowicz's base hit, the Sox trailed by just a run and Uviedo replaced Aguero. Chih-Hsien Chiang grounded to first to move the two baserunners into scoring position, but Borowiak's attempt to send the series to a fourth game was unsuccessful, as he tapped softly to second to make Lynchburg the champs.

The finals loss was the second runner-up finish for the city of Salem in the last three years, as the Astros-affiliated Avalanche lost to Frederick in 2007.

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Carolina League Stories from September 17, 2009


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