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 Lynchburg Hillcats

Hillcats Game Notes May 22, 2015, 6:30 P.M vs. Frederick

May 22, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (18-23) vs. FREDERICK KEYS (22-19)

Friday, May 22, 2015 -- 6:30 p.m.

Calvin Falwell Field at City Stadium

RHP Mitch Brown (1-3, 5.00) vs. LHP Mitch Horacek (2-4, 3.57)

LAST TIME OUT: Lynchburg used a six-run third inning to set the tone for an 8-4 win over the Red Sox, completing the Hillcats' first three-game series sweep in Salem since April 2003...Trailing 1-0 in the third, The Hillcats sent 10 men to the plate and pushed six runs across...SS IVAN CASTILLO led off with a single, CF CLINT FRAZIER was hit by a pitch, and RF BRADLEY ZIMMER walked to load the bases...1B NELLIE RODRIGUEZ followed with a walk of his own and the game was tied, 1-1...C ERIC HAASE gave the Hillcats the lead one batter later with a two-run double down the left field line...With runners at second and third, 3B PAUL HENDRIX drove in two more with a single to center to make it 5-1...After HENDRIX moved to second on a balk, LF MIKE PAPI singled to right to increase the lead to five, 6-1...Salem came back with three in the fifth to make it a two-run game, highlights by a two-run double by CF ANEURY TAVAREZ to make it 6-4...The Hillcats scored two in the eighth and ninth to separate themselves and cruise to a 10-4 win and a series sweep of Salem Red Sox...In the eighth, PAPI doubled to right and scored when 2B JAMES ROBERTS notched his second RBI double in as many nights...DH LUIGI RODRIGUEZ followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 8-4...HAASE ripped a triple in the ninth that scored two more to tie a career high with four RBIs to seal the 10-4 win...RHP D.J. Brown tied a career high previously set this season with six strikeouts in relief...

VS. FREDERICK: Lynchburg and Frederick will play a total of 23 times this year...So far, the Keys hold a 5-4 record against Lynchburg, but the Hillcats have claimed each of the past two series...In the first six games, there was only one home run between the two teams, but in the last three-game set the two sides combined for six homers...OF LUIGI RODRIGUEZ has a team-best .381 average against the Keys with two double, two RBIs and six runs scored while OF CLINT FRAZIER has posted a .371 average with two doubles, a home run and eight RBIs...INF DREW DOSCH has a team-high nine RBIs in nine games and has scored five times for Frederick...OF TUCKER NATHANS has a .385 average for the season series with a home run, five RBIs and five runs...

DRIVE FOR FIVE: Lynchburg is looking for its first five-game winning streak of the season...Previously, the Hillcats won four in a row from April 26 to April 28 in which they outscored opponents 24-13 during that span...The 'Cats have been much more dominant lately, winning their last four games by a combined score of 30-9...This stretch of games also includes Lynchburg's first sweep at Salem since 2003...

VS. LEFTIES: Lynchburg is scheduled to face a left-hander in three of the four games against Frederick this weekend, which is good news for the Hillcats...Lynchburg has a significantly better average (.263 vs. .227) against lefties, though the 'Cats do have a worse slugging percentage (.362 vs. .391)... Ironically, LUIGI RODRIGUEZ, a former switch-hitter who only bats from the left side now, has the team's best average...RODRIGUEZ is hitting .395 with four doubles and six RBIs against left-handers...

HOME, SWEET HOME: Even though the Hillcats had 23 runs and 30 hits in three games at LewisGale Field this week, Lynchburg still possesses much stronger numbers at City Stadium...The Hillcats have a team batting average of .263 at home compared to .227, which is 36 points better...The numbers are even more drastic with slugging percentage (.404 vs. .363) and on-base percentage (.347 vs. .294)...The 'Cats average 5.2 runs per game at Calvin Falwell Field and 3.8 runs per game elsewhere...

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: OF BRADLEY ZIMMER has stolen 19 bases in 20 attempts this year...His 19 steals are third in the league, and his 95.0 percent success rate is the best of any player with more than eight stolen bases this season...ZIMMER has had plenty of chances to steal, as he currently ranks third in the league in on-base percentage (.397), third in walks (20), and fourth in batting average (.302)...ZIMMER has made the most of his time on the basepaths by leading the league in runs scored with 30...

ANYTHING YOU CAN DO, WE CAN DO BETTER: Despite a .244 batting average that ranks in the bottom half of the league, Lynchburg leads the Carolina League in a wide range of offensive categories, including runs scored (183), RBIs (167), home runs (29), total bases (512), hit by pitch (21), sacrifice flies (17), stolen base success rate (81.5 percent) and slugging percentage (.382)...The 'Cats also rank second with 72 doubles and third with 13 triples... Of course, the Hillcats are also pacing the league in a few less glamorous categories as well, including 336 strikeouts (8.2 per game) and 274 men left on base (6.7 stranded per contest)...Five different Hillcats are averaging more than one strikeout per game...OF CLINT FRAZIER is third in the league with 43 strikeouts, 1B NELLIE RODRGUEZ is fourth with 42, OF BRADLEY ZIMMER is fifth with 41, and OF MIKE PAPI is sixth with 40 each...

ICE THAT ARM QUICKLY: With a league-high four doubleheaders and five different pitchers on the Disabled List at some point this season, the Hillcats have been forced to rely on the bullpen a lot... RHPs DELVY FRANCISCO and BEN HELLER lead the league with 14 appearances, while RHPs ROBBIE AVILES and CASEY WEATHERS are tied for third with 13 each...


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