CarL1 Salem RidgeYaks

Lynchburg Still Unbeaten; Cats Bash Sox 4-1

Published on April 11, 2012 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem RidgeYaks News Release


Lynchburg, VA (April 11, 2012) - For the fifth straight game, the Hillcats scored first and never looked back, handing Salem a 4-1 setback on Wednesday evening at City Stadium. Lynchburg improved to 5-0, the best start for the Hill City since becoming the Hillcats in 1995. Lynchburg scored three in the third and once more in the fourth, more than enough offense to surpass the struggling Sox, who dropped their fourth straight after winning on opening night. Nobody in the contest had more hits than Salem's Brandon Jacobs, who broke out of his 3-for-18 skid with three consecutive hits. But Lynchburg out-hit Salem 11-6, with Jacobs recording half of the Sox' total.

Hillcat righthander Cody Martin pitched around baserunners in four of his five innings on the mound, holding the Sox without a run to improve to 2-0 on the young season. The Sox scrapped a run off Blaine Sims in the sixth inning, but Salem went just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position on the night. Ryan Weber and Juan Jaime each tossed scoreless frames for the Hillcats bullpen, with Jaime picking up the save by striking out the side in the ninth.

Lynchburg's first run came on a Salem error in the third inning. With runners at first and third, Keith Couch's pickoff attempt bounced off Travis Shaw's glove at first, and both runners advanced to give the Cats a 1-0 lead. Nick Ahmed doubled to make it 2-0, and Tommy La Stella's ensuing single put the Cats up by three.

Couch struck out eight batters in five innings for Salem, including three each in the third and fourth innings, but Lynchburg scored in both of those high-volume strikeout frames. Chris Garcia opened the fourth with a single and came around on David Rohm's RBI double, providing Lynchburg a 4-0 cushion. Couch tossed 60 of his 85 pitches for strikes, but allowed four runs on seven hits and was saddled with the loss, dropping his record to 1-1.

Once again, the Red Sox relievers performed admirably. Andrew Jones dealt two scoreless frames before Mike Olmsted shut down the Hillcats in the eighth. But Salem's only run came around after Shannon Wilkerson smacked a one-out triple and then scored on Jacobs' RBI single.

After scoring nine runs to beat Frederick on Opening Day, the Salem Sox have managed just seven runs in their last four ballgames, all losses.

The Sox will look to salvage the final game of the series in Lynchburg on Thursday before returning to Salem on Friday for the 2012 home opener at LewisGale Field. Opening Day starter Ryan Pressly gets the ball for the second time on Thursday, with Lynchburg sending Gus Schlosser to the mound for the series finale. First pitch is slated for 6:05.

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