Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes
Published on April 25, 2012 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Hill City Howlers News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (10-6) VS CAROLINA MUDCATS (8-9)
April 25th, 2012 -- 7:15 PM
Five County Stadium
LHP Ronan Pacheco (0-1, 7.59) vs. LHP T.J. House (1-0, 0.95)
THE HILLCATS: Last night, the Hillcats beat the Carolina Mudcats 14-8...LF Evan Gattis hit a pair of moon shots over the left field wall and drove in five runs for the Hillcats...3B Edward Salcedo went back-to-back with Gattis in the sixth inning...Lynchburg trailed 4-1 after four innings...Then put up seven unanswered to take the lead back and retain it the rest of the way...RHP Gus Schlosser (2-0) earned the win after tossing six innings, giving up four runs, earned, on 10 hits...The Hillcats are now 10-6 and remain in first place in the Northern Division...
VS. CAROLINA: The Hillcats evened the series at 1-1 last night with a whopping 14-run display...This is the first season in the league for Carolina...The Mudcats were formerly the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, now the Hi-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians who were previously the Kinston Indians a year ago...The Hillcats were 6-13 last year versus the Kinston Indians...The Indians took six of seven at home against Lynchburg last season...Only played seven in Kinston due to Hurricane Irene...
THE BEST GET BETTER: Lynchburg put up a new team-high 14 runs last night (topping their previous high of 13)...Their 14-run effort is the most runs put up in a game by any Carolina League team this season...With the 14-8 win, the Hillcats now have the most wins in the league by more than three runs (5)...They continue to lead the league in most every major offensive category...They're batting 17 points higher than any other team in the league (.315)...They've hit nine more homers (20), have 17 more RBI (97), scored 19 more runs (104), and are slugging 90 points higher (.522)...
ANDDD THEY CAN RUN: The Hillcats stole six bases last night including two double steals...That is the most in a single game this season in the Carolina League...They now have 20 on the season, which is one behind the Salem Red Sox (21)...Lynchburg has also been caught stealing a league-high 10 times...They were 6-for-7 last night with the lone caught stealing coming on a missed hit-and-run play...
OH, YOU SAY THE GLASS IS HALF EMPTY: Lynchburg did commit three errors last night, which led to three unearned runs...It was the second time they have committed three errors in a single game (a team-high)...They slipped to second in the league in fielding percentage (.974) behind Wilmington (.978)...Now totaling 16 errors on the season, which is second fewest, Wilmington (14)...
THREE'S A TREND: At the risk of losing their third straight game for the first time this season, the Hillcats responded with a huge offensive night and won 14-8...They have lost two games in a row three times this year but not three yet...Winston-Salem and Wilmington are the only other teams in the league who can say the same...The Salem Red Sox are the only team with a four-game losing streak this season..
PROSPECT WATCH: Once again, the Hillcats will start the season with eight of the top-30 Braves prospects...Second most of the Braves affiliates to Double-A Mississippi who have started the year with 10...3B/SS Edward Salcedo (6), RHP J.R. Graham (13), SS/2B/OF Matt Lipka (14), SS Nick Ahmed (15), LHP Dimasther Delgado (18), RHP Cody Martin (19), C Evan Gattis (27), and 2B Tommy La Stella (28) are the eight top-30 prospects on the Hillcats Opening Day roster...
QUINTUPLE CROWN?: C Evan Gattis and now OF Evan Gattis after making his professional debut in left field last night...He made one catch on his one opportunity...A last second turn on the warning track and a sandlot-esque reach behind his head led to him making the catch with some, to be expected, difficulty...At the plate he didn't miss a beat...Launched two more home runs, and now has eight on the season, and drove in five to give him 26 RBI (both totals lead the league)...He went 3-for-5 on the night and is now hitting a league-best .424...Also leads the CL in on-base percentage (.507) and slugging (.898)...He is second in all of minor league baseball in all five of those categories as well...Tied in home runs for second behind Brad Eldred of the Toledo Mud Hens (12)...
CUZ PEOPLE LIKE TO SAY SALCE': 3B Edward Salcedo went 2-for-6 last night with a home run, two RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base...He now has three homers and three steals on the season, showcasing the advertised combo of power and speed...OF Ronnie Welty of Frederick is the only other player to have at least three home runs and three stolen bases in the CL this year; he's now in Double-A...Last night's long ball came directly after an Evan Gattis home run...It was the second time in three games, that Salcedo went back-to-back with Gattis...He has now hit safely in seven of his last eight games...Batting .351 (13-for-37) in that span with three homers, eight RBI, and four doubles...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: LHP T.J. House was selected in the 16th round of the 2008 draft out of Picayune (MS) High School...Made his professional debut in 2009 with Low-A Lake County in the South Atlantic League...Went 6-11 with a 3.15 ERA in 26 starts...Struck out 109 in 134.1 innings...Ranked fourth in the SAL in starts (26), and fourth in the Indians farm system in ERA (3.15)...Moved up to Hi-A Kinston in the Carolina League in 2010...Went 6-10 with a 3.91 ERA, which was eighth best in the league...Returned to Kinston in 2011...Went 6-12, with a 5.19 ERA...Has made 24 or more starts, pitched 130 or more innings, and lost 10 or more games in each of his first three seasons...In his third year at the Hi-A level...He'll turn 23 this September...This year, he is 1-0 with a 0.95 ERA (3rd in CL) through three starts...Has struck out a team-high 22 (5th in CL) in 19 innings...
Carolina League Stories from April 25, 2012
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- Hillcats Bats Go Quiet, Fall 5-2 - Hill City Howlers
- Tice Launches Mudcats to Victory - Carolina Mudcats
- Tepesch Dominate in Doubles Parade, 3-1 Win - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Keys' Bats Quieted in 3-1 Loss - Frederick Keys
- Blue Rocks Game Notes - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Dash Explode for 14 Runs in Win - Winston-Salem Dash
- Dash Blank Nationals 14-0 - Potomac Nationals
- Chien-Ming Wang to Pitch Saturday in Potomac - Potomac Nationals
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Hill City Howlers
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