Potomac Comes Back for 4-3 Win in 11 Innings
May 7, 2017 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
WOODBRIDGE, Va. - Lynchburg scored three times on two hits in the third inning and used that offense to lead most of the day until Potomac plated two runs in the eighth to tie the game and force extra innings. Telmito Augustin singled to left with the bases loaded in the 11th to give Potomac a 4-3 victory at Pfitzner Stadium Sunday afternoon.
Shane Bieber made his Advanced-A debut and struck out seven while walking none in six innings of work. The right-hander only allowed one run, which was a solo homer by Nationals' top prospect Victor Robles in the fourth inning. Bieber has struck out 59 batters while only walking three in 59 innings in his professional career. He left the game with a 3-1 lead.
Lynchburg claimed a 3-0 advantage in the third. Daniel Salters began the stanza with a walk, and Ivan Castillo was hit by a pitch to put two on with one out. Andrew Calica doubled to drive in the first run, and Yonathan Mendoza immediately followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0. Sicnarf Loopstok brought in Calica with a sacrifice fly.
With a 3-1 score, the Hillcats could not cash in on a couple opportunities to pad their lead late in the game. Lynchburg had three straight base hits in the seventh, but a picked-off runner helped thwart that chance. The Hillcats also had two men on with nobody out in the eighth but failed to convert.
Trailing by two, Potomac evened the score in the bottom of the eighth inning after a pair of hits started the rally. Back-to-back one-out walks pushed Jack Sundberg across the plate, and Ian Sagdal hit a sacrifice fly to right to knock in Augustin for the tying run. The game remained knotted until the 11th when the P-Nats loaded the bases, and Augustin lined an opposite-field single to left to end it.
Billy Strode suffered the loss after conceding two hits and two walks in 1/3 of an inning in the 11th. Gilberto Mendez (1-0) earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief in a 3-3 contest.
The Hillcats were unable to complete a four-game sweep of the Nationals, but they are still 9-3 on the road. The loss also snapped a four-game winning streak and marked Lynchburg's first game ending in a walk-off for either team this year.
Lynchburg returns home to face the Carolina Mudcats Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Triston McKenzie (2-2, 2.39) will start for the Hillcats against Conor Harbor (1-1, 2.61). Gates open at 5:30, and fans who can't attend can listen to the game live at www.lynchburg-hillcats.com beginning at 6:20.
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Carolina League Stories from May 7, 2017
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- Offense Surges Late to Stun Wood Ducks - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Ray Double Gives Mudcats Walk-Off Win - Frederick Keys
- Potomac Comes Back for 4-3 Win in 11 Innings - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Agustin Walks off Lynchburg in 4-3 Win - Potomac Nationals
- Dash Outhit Red Sox to Salvage Road Trip Finale - Winston-Salem Dash
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