Hillcats vs. Blue Rocks - Game Notes - August 15, 2013
August 15, 2013 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
THE HILLCATS: Had their four-game winning streak snapped with a 6-4 loss to the Wilmington Blue Rocks last night...The Blue Rocks jumped out to a 6-0 lead with single runs in the second and third, and then four more in the fourth...RHP Greg Ross (7-6) took the loss allowing all six runs, five of which were earned...He settled down after the fourth though to retire his final 10 batters in a row, completing the seventh inning...The Hillcats battled back in the fourth and fifth frames...OF Josh Elander, SS Elmer Reyes, and 2B Levi Hyams all doubled in the fourth to scored two runs...Then, with the help of two walks, an error, a bunt single, and another single, the Cats plated two more runs in the fifth...Lynchburg is now 21-27 trailing in the wild card playoff standings by just a half game behind the Wilmington Blue Rocks...
VS. WILMINGTON: The Hillcats are 7-11 against the Blue Rocks this season...The Cats are 3-5 against Wilmington in Lynchburg...These two clubs split their first six meetings in the first half 3-3, but in the second half the Hillcats are 4-8, not winning a series against the Rocks since their first meeting May 3-5 in Lynchburg...Both teams have pitched well in this series as Lynchburg holds a 3.61 ERA and Wilmington a 3.08 ERA, however, defense has been suspect...The Hillcats have committed 25 errors to the Blue Rocks' 24 errors in 18 meetings this season...
STRIVE FOR FIVE: The Hillcats failed to collect a five-game winning streak once again last night...They have won four in a row five times this season but never five...They have been outscored 30-11, getting shut out once in their five attempts...They came closest to a five-game streak when they lost to the Salem Red Sox 5-4 in 11 innings on August 2...Three of the five starters the Hillcats have faced in these games have since been called up to Double-A, with the only exceptions being the two most recent, Salem starter RHP Kyle Stroup, and last night's starter LHP Sam Selman...
PERSONAL BEST: OF Matt Lipka's three stolen bases Sunday night set a new career-high for the fourth-year pro...A former All-State wide receiver in Texas, Lipka drafted out of high school as a shortstop...His average arm strength but plus-plus speed motivated a move to centerfield prior to the 2012 season...He has stolen 87 bases in his career, but never more than two in a single game...2013 is his third season with 20 or more steals...He was limited to just 51 games in 2012 due to a hamstring injury...At 27 swipes this year, he is one shy of his career-best for a single season, as he stole 28 bases with Low-A Rome in 2011...
HYATT'S OFF TO YOU: RHP Nate Hyatt threw a perfect ninth inning last night striking out one batter...The Brevard, North Carolina native was dominant in April allowing just one run in 11 innings and recording four saves in four opportunities...But posted an ERA over 8.00 in both May and July, and an ERA over 4.00 in June...He even lost his closer role for a bit...He went from June 10 to August 7 without a save, but now has two saves in his last three appearances...Part of that drought was the team's poor play in June (9-17) and July (12-14) as well...Now in August, Hyatt has four scoreless appearances, striking out six and walking two in 6.1 innings...
WILD STAFF: Hillcats pitching walked only two batters last night bringing their season total to 473...That still leads the league, despite the Cats having pitched in a league-low 1012.2 innings...Every other team has pitched at least 30 more innings this season...RHP A.J. Holland, who hit two more batters Tuesday night, brought his personal league-leading total to 16...The team total is now 71, which ranks tied for second highest to the 74 bean balls thrown by Blue Rocks pitchers this season...
SOLVING SELMAN: LHP Sam Selman improve to 3-0 in four starts against the Hillcats last night tossing five innings while allowing four runs, two earned, on five hits and four walks...He also struck out seven...Prior to last night he had only allowed one run to the Hillcats in 17.1 innings...He has struck out 22 and walked 16, while only allowing 10 hits in 22.1 total innings this year versus Lynchburg...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: LHP Tripp Davis signed with the Royals as an undrafted free agent in June of 2013...The 22-year-old Greenville, Ohio native played his college ball at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey...Davis completed his career as NJIT's Division I career leader in wins (19), innings pitched (382.1), and games started (58), while ranking second in career strikeouts (309)...After signing in June, he reported to Surprise, Arizona and joined the AZL Royals...He went 2-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 11 appearances, one start...He threw a career-high 4.1 innings in his only start July 10, and gave up three runs on seven hits...Has only walked six in 21.2 innings as a pro, while striking out 15...
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Carolina League Stories from August 15, 2013
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- Rocks Let Late Lead Slip Away in Lynchburg - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Sox Sneak Past Dash 2-1 - Salem Red Sox
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- Winston Falls by One, Drops Fifth Straight Game - Winston-Salem Dash
- Pelicans vs. Mudcats - Game Notes - August 15, 2013 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Hillcats vs. Blue Rocks - Game Notes - August 15, 2013 - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Salem Sox vs. Dash - Game Notes - August 15, 2013 - Salem Red Sox
- Dash vs. Salem Sox - Game Notes - August 15, 2013 - Winston-Salem Dash
- Red Sox Faith Night this Saturday - Salem Red Sox
- Blue Rocks Back in Front in Playoff Chase - Wilmington Blue Rocks
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