Hillcats Game Notes July 1, 2015, 6:35 P.M. at Wilmington
July 1, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (3-2, 36-39) vs. WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS (4-1, 42-33)
Wednesday, July 1, 2015 -- 6:35 p.m.
Frawley Stadium
RHP Mitch Brown (2-8, 6.07) vs. RHP Jakob Junis (3-5, 3.62)
LAST TIME OUT: Lynchburg capped off a series sweep of the Salem Red Sox with an 11-4 win...Every member of the Hillcats recorded a hit in the game, totaling 15 hits in the contest...LUIS LUGO took the mound for the Hillcats and turned in one of his best performances of the season...LUGO struck out three batters and allowed just one hit through the first two innings...In the top of the third, Lynchburg drew first blood with a double by BRADLEY ZIMMER that scored IVAN CASTILLO...The hit was ZIMMER'S third go-ahead RBI in his last three games...Salem responded in the home half of the third on a two-RBI double by WENDELL RIJO to give Salem a 2-1 advantage...However, the lead was short-lived as Lynchburg cranked out five runs in the top of the fourth...PAUL HENDRIX led off the inning with a double and was immediately brought home by MIKE PAPI to tie the game at 2-all...YHOXIAN MEDINA singled two batters later and IVAN CASTILLO ripped his seventh triple of the year into the right-center field gap that scored PAPI and MEDINA to regain the lead, 4-2...With MEDINA standing at third, LEVON WASHINGTON singled up the middle for his fifth RBI of the year, extending the lead to three runs...NELLIE RODRIGUEZ capped off the five-run inning with an RBI single that scored WASHINGTON to make it 6-2...The Hillcats tacked on three more runs in the top of the fifth that was highlighted by ERIC HAASE'S fifth home run of the year and his second of the series... Lynchburg tallied four hits in the inning as ZIMMER added to his RBI total with a two-run single that scored WASHINGTON and MEDINA to give the Hillcats a 9-2 advantage...LUGO earned the win after allowing three runs, just two of which were earned, on seven hits, while walking three and striking out four over five innings...CLINT FRAZIER was the last Hillcat to record a base knock that came in the eighth inning...He was driven in on a two-RBI double by PAUL HENDRIX to put the Hillcats up 11-4.
VS. WILMINGTON: Lynchburg is 4-3 this season against the first-half champion Wilmington Blue Rocks...The two teams split their first series of the season with Lynchburg taking the opening and closing game of the series while losing the middle two games...Lynchburg shut out the Blue Rocks 6-0 in the first meeting of the season and won an 11 inning contest, 11-7 to finish the series...As a team, the Hillcats are batting .271 in seven contests...Wilmington ranks fourth in the Carolina League in ERA with a 2.86 combined this season, but against the Hillcats this season, the Blue Rocks have a 4.29 ERA.
FEW GAMES, BIG IMPACT: YHOXIAN MEDINA spent the majority of the first half rehabbing an injury he suffered on the first road trip of the season and LEVON WASHINGTON spent the entire first half in Arizona rehabbing from hip surgery and although both have only played in a combined 14 game this season, they have made the most of their time...MEDINA has played in just five games since returning from his injury and has recorded multiple-hit games in three of those five appearances with six runs scored...WASHINGTON has appeared in just five games this season and has recorded five RBIs for a nice, round average of one RBI per game this season.
CREATURES OF HABIT: BRADLEY ZIMMER and MIKE PAPI filled specific roles in each of their last three games against the Salem Red Sox...For three consecutive games PAPI recorded a game-tying RBI and ZIMMER recorded a go-ahead RBI. ..On Sunday, with the Hillcats down 6-4, PAPI homered for the first time this year with a two-run shot to tie the game and ZIMMER followed that with a grand slam to put the 'Cats ahead 10-6 for the win...On Monday, PAPI tied the game in the fourth with an RBI double to make the game 1-all...ZIMMER put Lynchburg up 2-1 with a sacrifice fly in the eighth...In the final game of the series, PAPI tied the game with an RBI single in the fourth inning, and ZIMMER put the Hillcats ahead for good with a two-run single later in the frame.
JUNE-Y BE GOOD: June proved to be a successful month for the Hillcats...As a team, Lynchburg recorded a .264 average and led the Carolina League in doubles (53) and triples (10) and ranked second in home runs with 17 (Carolina, 20) and RBIs with 110 (Salem, 123)...In June, MICHAEL PEOPLES ranked third in the Indians system with a 2.35 ERA...ANTONIO ROMERO tied for third in the Indians system with a 0.99 WHIP among bullpen pitchers...BEN HELLER ranks third in the Indians system with nine saves, four of which came in June...LUIS LUGO recorded 28 strikeouts placing him third in the Indians system in the month of June...For hitters, NELLIE RODRIGUEZ led the Indians system with a .959 OPS while MIKE PAPI was second with a .956 OPS...NELLIE also had the second highest average in the Indians farm system by hitting .341 in June...LUIGI RODRIGUEZ tallied three triples in June, placing him atop the Indians organization in June...
THE FUTURE IS HERE: OF BRADLEY ZIMMER has been named to the 2015 MLB Futures Game roster and will participate in the showcase for the United States team on July 12 at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati...ZIMMER joins Potomac Nationals pitcher LUCAS GIOLITO as the only other player from the Carolina League on either roster...The 22-year-old is the only member of the Cleveland system participating in the game...Through 67 games, ZIMMER'S 10 home runs rank second in the Carolina League... Zimmer also leads the league with 29 stolen bases, and he has scored 55 runs this season, which is 10 more than anyone else on the circuit.
THIS DATE IN BASEBALL HISTORY: On July 1, 1859, the first college baseball game was played. Amherst defeated its archrival, Williams College, 73-32 (66-32 by some reports). The game took place near the corner of North Street and Maplewood Avenue in Pittsfield, Mass.
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