Lynchburg Sneaks Past Salem 6-5 in Series Finale
July 25, 2010 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release
Lynchburg, VA (July 25, 2010)- Despite trailing 3-0 after two innings, the Salem Sox battled back to get within one run on three separate occasions, including loading the bases with one out in the ninth, but Justin Freeman worked out of the jam to preserve a 6-5 Lynchburg victory on Sunday evening at City Stadium. The Sox finished 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and ended up splitting the series in which they won the first two games.
Trailing by one entering the ninth, Dan Butler and Jon Hee led off with back-to-back singles and advanced to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Dent. Mitch Dening was then hit by a pitch to load the bases with just one out. However, Peter Hissey flew out on a foul ball down the left field line on the first pitch he saw, and Oscar Tejeda grounded back to Freeman on the first offering he saw to end the ballgame. The teams combined to score a run in every inning except for the ninth, with the Hillcats jumping out to a 3-0 advantage after two. Kyle Day started the scoring with a two-run single in the first, while Kevin Coddington scored an inning later on a wild pitch after tripling to lead off the second. Salem scored single tallies in the third and fourth innings, highlighted by Will Middlebrooks' ninth homer of the year, a solo shot to left-center off of Jordan Hotchkiss to lead off the fourth and bring the Sox to within 3-2.
Lynchburg responded with a run in the fifth on an RBI single by Denis Phipps, who finished the series by going 7-for-13 with four extra base hits and three RBI. The 'Cats regained their three-run cushion in the sixth, as Coddington brought home Brodie Greene with an RBI double to put Lynchburg up 5-2. The Sox inched back within one in the top of the seventh, thanks to back-to-back RBI doubles from Hee and Dent. The Hillcats went back up by two in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by pinch hitter Chris Richburg to make it 6-4 Lynchburg.
Tejeda led off the eighth with a triple to right-center on an 0-2 pitch and scored on a groundout by Middlebrooks to pull Salem within a single run for the third time. However, the Sox bats were unable to come through and push across the tying run in the final frame. Hee was the lone Salem batter to record multiple hits, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored. Middlebrooks' towering blast was his lone hit of the night, but he drove in two to increase his total to 56 on the year. Peter Hissey saw his 12-game hitting streak come to an end, as he was the lone Sox player to not record a hit.
Michael Lee was shaky early before settling down for Salem. Lee ended up allowing four runs on six hits while striking out four and walking two in five innings. Seth Garrison gave up two runs in 1.1 innings, while Cesar Cabral yielded just one baserunner in 1.2 innings.
Salem returns home for the start of a six-game homestand with the first of three against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Caleb Clay takes the mound for Salem against the Pelicans' Cory Rasmus. First pitch from Lewis-Gale Field is set for 7:05 PM.
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Carolina League Stories from July 25, 2010
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- Francis Slams, Drives in Six - Wilmington Blue Rocks
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- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
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