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CarL1 Lynchburg Hillcats

Hillcats Game Notes April 28, 2015, 6:30 p.m. vs. Carolina

April 28, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (8-10) vs. CAROLINA MUDCATS (7-9)

Tuesday, April 28, 2015 -- 6:30 PM

Calvin Falwell Field at City Stadium

RHP Adam Plutko (0-1, 1.53) vs. RHP Lucas Sims (1-2, 6.75)

LAST TIME OUT: LF Mike Papi's first two RBIs of the season helped lead the Hillcats to their third consecutive victory at Potomac, 4-3, at Pfitzner Stadium Monday night...Lynchburg never trailed in the contest, grabbing its initial lead in the second inning when Papi and C Alex Monsalve both walked to open the stanza...DH Luigi Rodriguez singled to right field and an error by Brandon Miller allowed Papi to score on the play...The Hillcats plated two runs in the third inning without a hit...Four consecutive walks began the frame, as CF Clint Frazier, 3B Paul Hendrix, RF Bradley Zimmer, and 1B Nellie Rodriguez all earned free passes...Rodriguez received his team-leading 12th RBI of the season with a bases-loaded walk...Papi followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Hendrix and make it a 3-0 contest...At that point, the Hillcats only had three runs on one hit in the game...Potomac scored its first run in the fourth inning when CF Isaac Ballou lined a leadoff single up the middle, and 3B Drew Ward eventually knocked him in on an RBI groundout...Papi's RBI double in the fifth inning quickly restored a three-run margin, as he brought home Zimmer, who also hit a double in the frame...The Nationals scored twice in the sixth to cut it to a one-run game, 4-3...Two different times Potomac had the tying and go-ahead runs both on base, but each time the Hillcats escaped the jam with the one-run advantage intact...

WELCOME BACK, YOU'RE IN THE WRONG CLUBHOUSE: Fans at City Stadium will see many familiar faces at the ballpark today, including Carolina's starting pitcher RHP LUCAS SIMS ...Sims went 8-11 with a 4.19 ERA last year after being named the Atlanta Braves' No. 1 prospect heading into 2014... SIMS will forever be a part of Hillcats history, as he pitched seven innings in what became the first of back-to-back no-hitters at Wilmington on June 26 and 27...Also returning to Lynchburg are Mauricio Cabrera, Matt Marksberry, Blair Walters, Andrew Waszak, Joe Odom, Johan Camargo, Eric Garcia, Levi Hyams, Sean Godfrey, manager Luis Salazar, hitting coach Carlos Mendez, pitching coach Derrick Lewis and athletic trainer Joe Toenjes ...

HOW'S THE OLD OFFICE LOOK? Mark Budzinski will have a chance to meet his predecessor, Luis Salazar, today...Budzinski became the 18th manager in Lynchburg since the team adopted the Hillcats nickname in 1995...Considering that averages to nearly one per year, it's remarkable that Budzinski is actually the first manager other than Luis Salazar to hold the Lynchburg post since 2010...Salazar managed Lynchburg all four seasons that the Hillcats were affiliated with the Atlanta Braves, including the 2012 Mills Cup Championship Team...

VS. CAROLINA (a.k.a. LYNCHBURG): Last year, Carolina and Lynchburg faced off 20 times, and Carolina took 12 of them...Current Hillcats who won games while pitching for the Mudcats last season are RHP MICHAEL PEOPLES (3-0), RHP ADAM PLUTKO (1-0), and RHP CLAYTON COOK (1-0)...RHP LUCAS SIMS went 1-2 against Carolina last year...

WELCOME TO THE TRIBE ! Lynchburg's 20th anniversary season of becoming the Hillcats is also its first as the Advanced-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians...Cleveland becomes the 11th Major League Baseball team to place an affiliate in Lynchburg, as City Stadium has previously been the host to affiliates of the St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves...Lynchburg's longest partnership lasted with the Pirates when Pittsburgh kept its affiliate in Lynchburg for 15 seasons from 1995 to 2009...

DO YOU MIND SAVING THIS FOR ME? Lynchburg has seen plenty of close games this year, and a Hillcats pitcher has notched a save in seven of the team's eight wins, including the last three ...On Saturday, RHP BEN HELLER picked up his third save of the season with a perfect final inning that included three strikeouts to complete a 6-5 win...In the second game, RHP ROBBIE AVILES worked a perfect seventh with a strikeout to register his first save of the season and the third of his career...The Hillcats lead the Carolina League lead with seven saves...The only game in which the Hillcats have not required a save was a 9-0 victory over Frederick on April 22...

ON THE LEADERBOARD: OF BRADLEY ZIMMER finds himself on the Carolina League leaderboard in numerous offensive categories 18 games into the season...The No. 2 propect in the Indians system by Baseball America, ZIMMER leads the league with four home runs...He also ranks sixth in batting average (.323), second in runs scored (13), third in stolen bases (9), third in on-base percentage (.419), and third in slugging percentage (.548)...

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