Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes (Doubleheader)
Published on July 2, 2012 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Hill City Howlers News Release
WINSTON-SALEM DASH (44-26, 2-5) vs LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (44-36, 5-5)
July 2nd, 2012 -- 6:05 PM
Calvin Falwell Field at Lynchburg City Stadium
RHP Steve McCray (2-0, 2.64) vs RHP J.R. Graham (8-1, 2.60)
RHP Steven Upchurch (1-0, 2.75) vs RHP Chris Masters (0-3, 5.73)
THE HILLCATS: Saturday, the Hillcats shut out the Wilmington Blue Rocks 1-0...RHP Gus Schlosser threw six scoreless frames for the 'Cats, and struck out six, while walking none...LHP Matt Chaffee and RHP Juan Jaime completed the shut out with three scoreless innings between them...In all, the Hillcats staff struck out nine and walked one with only four hits allowed...OF Bobby Stevens came through in the top of the 9th with a sacrifice fly to score pinch-runner Emerson Landoni for the game's only run...The Hillcats are now 5-5 in the second half and in second place in the Northern Division...
VS. WINSTON-SALEM: Lynchburg is 3-3 against the Dash this season...The Hillcats took two of three at home 5/11-13, and the Dash took two of three in Winston-Salem 5/18-20...The two clubs will square-off six times in eight days starting tonight with a doubleheader...Both clubs have clinched playoff spots in September already...The 'Cats won the first half in the Northern Division, while the Dash did the same for the Southern Division...
MURPHY'S LAW: Most of the City of Lynchburg (including City Stadium) lost power late Friday night due to a severe storm...Without power, the Hillcats and Dash were unable to begin their series on time Sunday evening, forcing the doubleheader tonight...Most estimates said power would not be restored until Wednesday or later, so a 2:00pm game was scheduled for today to play in the daylight...Once power returned to City Stadium Sunday evening, the afternoon game was scratched and a doubleheader at 6:05pm took its place...
TWO-A-DAYS: The Hillcats are 6-6 in doubleheader games this season, one of four teams in the league with a .500 or better winning percentage in twinbills...The Dash are 4-2 when playing two...They are tied with the Wilmington Blue Rocks for the fewest doubleheaders in the league...Last time the Hillcats played two was June 22...They won game one on a walk-off squeeze bunt in the bottom of the 11th inning, and game two behind a seven-inning no-hitter for RHP Aaron Northcraft...It was the first individual no-hitter in Hillcats history, which dates back to 1995...
SCORE FIRST AND DON'T MAKE MISTAKES: Lynchburg is 2-5 over their last seven games...In each of the five losses, the 'Cats have committed at least one error, and their opponents have scored first...They played mistake-free baseball in both wins, and scored first in one...The Hillcats are a league-best 34-9 when scoring first...Winston-Salem is next-best at 36-13...The Dash have scored first in 49 games, which leads the circuit...The Hillcats' 43 games is third-most...
HILLCATS MONTHLY: The Hillcats hit .243 in June, averaging 3.17 runs per game...The pitching carried them, boasting a 2.65 ERA, best in the league for the month...The 'Cats went 16-13 in June, making it their third-straight winning month...They went 15-14 in May, batting .250 with a 3.66 ERA...They averaged 3.97 runs per game that month...April was by far their best offensive month...They hit .294, best in the the league, while five of the eight teams hit .254 or worse...The pitching had it's worst month with a 4.14 ERA but the team went 13-9 as the bats put up 5.72 runs per game...C Evan Gattis hit .385 that month with nine home runs with 29 RBI...He was called up before the first game in May...
THE DECISION: RHP Cody Martin suffered his sixth loss of the season last time out after giving up just three runs, two earned, in five innings...Martin is now 7-6...His 13 decisions are the most for any pitcher in the Carolina league...Martin owns the 10th-best ERA in league at 3.43, but gets the worst run-support of any starter on the team with more than four starts...The Hillcats, who average 4.16 runs per game score only 3.3 on average in games Martin starts...
I CAN BE, CENTER FIELD: OF Mycal Jones snapped a season-best 10-game hitting streak Friday night going 0-for-3 with a hit by pitch...He is now 0-for-7 in his last two games...The streak was his longest since hitting in 10 straight from June 10-20 in 2010 in his first 10 Carolina League games with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (2010 Braves affiliate)...He batted .447 (17-for-38) during the streak with six doubles, three RBI, and five runs scored...Jones is hitting .301 when playing center field this season as opposed to just .207 when playing left field...He has started seven-straight games in center with OF Matt Lipka on the DL...The 10-game streak raised his batting average 48 points, from .231 to .279...It has dropped to .267 since...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP Stephen McCray was selected in the 16th round in 2010 out of University of Tennessee...Drafted 34th round by the in 2006 by Tampa Bay but went to Young Harris College...Drafted in the 50th 2007 by the St. Louis but stayed in school...Led Young Harris College to first ever NJCAA College World Series in 2007...Prior to 2009, transferred to University of Tennessee...Spent last two seasons in Rookie-Level Great Falls...Compiled 9-6 record with a 3.68 ERA in 34 games (15 starts)...Recorded two saves in his first season with 92 strikeouts to 32 walks...
Carolina League Stories from July 2, 2012
- 13 Inning Tussle Ends in 12-6 Defeat - Frederick Keys
- Thirteen Proves Lucky for Blue Crew - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Pelicans Ignite Couch in Seventh Inning Comeback - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- 'Cats and Dash Split Doubleheader in Lynchburg - Hill City Howlers
- Hillcats Earn Split with Victory in Nightcap - Winston-Salem Dash
- Aguilar, Mudcats Crush P-Nats - Carolina Mudcats
- Mudcats, Aguilar Blast Nationals 11-1 - Potomac Nationals
- Pelicans Edge Red Sox 4-3 on Monday Night - Salem RidgeYaks
- Hankerd, Thompson Lift Dash to Victory - Winston-Salem Dash
- Pelicans Largest Fireworks Show of the Season Highlights Independence Eve Celebration - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Blue Rocks Game Notes - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes (Doubleheader) - Hill City Howlers
- Heidenreich Named Carolina League Pitcher of the Week - Winston-Salem Dash
- How to Reach the Potomac Nationals for Tickets - Potomac Nationals
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
