Sports stats

CarL1 Lynchburg Hillcats

Hillcats Game Notes August 18, 2015, 6:30 vs. Frederick

August 18, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (28-22, 61-59) vs. FREDERICK KEYS (26-24, 58-62)

Tuesday, August 18, 2015 -- 6:30 p.m.

Calvin Falwell Field at City Stadium

RHP Michael Peoples (8-3, 3.98) vs. LHP Mitch Horacek (7-13, 4.34)

LAST TIME OUT: Myrtle Beach scored a run in each the third and fourth innings as BRAD MARKEY held the Hillcats scoreless to hand Lynchburg a 2-0 defeat in the rubber match of the series on Sunday night... Myrtle Beach used four extra-base hits to take a 2-0 lead over the Hillcats through the first four innings...In the bottom of the third, CHESNY YOUNG doubled with one out and was driven in on a RBI triple by PIN-CHIEH CHEN to give the Pelicans a 1-0 lead...In the next frame, JORDAN HANKINS doubled with one out and scored two batters later on a RBI double by KEVIN BROWN that made it 2-0...DACE KIME (3-6) was seeking consecutive wins for the first time this season, but after receiving 15 runs of in-game support in his last outing, he received zero in Sunday's contest...KIME turned in 5 1/3 innings of work and allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out five batters, but earned his sixth loss...The Hillcats only had one baserunner reach third base as CLINT FRAZIER reached third in the ninth...LeVON WASHINGTON, who singled to lead off the game was the only other baserunner to advance past first base as he reached second following a balk by MARKEY.

VS. FREDERICK: Lynchburg is 9-11 overall against the Frederick Keys this season, but are 6-4 against them at home at City Stadium...The last time the two squads met, Frederick took two of three games and moved back within three games of first place after Lynchburg won the series opener 17-2...The Hillcats as a team are hitting just .261 against the Keys, which is just one point less than their season average...CLINT FRAZIER's numbers at the plate haven't been too affected by Frederick pitching as he leads the team with a .347 average including four home runs and 19 RBIs in 19 games...Along with his 25 hits, FRAZIER has also walked 13 times against the Keys...The two teams rank as the top two clubs in the Carolina League in terms of total hits...Lynchburg has 1,037 hits on the season and Frederick has 1,022...No other team in the Carolina League has reached the 1,000 hit total...Salem (993) ranks third and needs seven hits to reach that benchmark.

CRUCIAL SERIES: The Hillcats have a two game lead over the Frederick Keys with 20 games to play...Tuesday marks the beginning of a crucial three-game series against the second-place Keys...Following the three-game series the Hillcats do not face an opponent in the top two of either division for the remainder of the season....Lynchburg will play six games against the last-place Salem Red Sox, eight games against the South Division third place Carolina Mudcats, and three games against the Northern Division third-place Potomac Nationals...Frederick, who trails Lynchburg by two games, will play eight games against the first-place Winston-Salem Dash and three games against the Southern Division first-half champion and current second place Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

LET'S NOT KEEP IT CLOSE: Lynchburg claimed the opening game of the series against the Pelicans by four runs to improve to a league-best 30-16 (.652) in games decided by more than three runs...Coincidentally, Myrtle Beach owns the second-best mark in such games with a 26-14 (.650) ledger....Close games tell a much different story, as the Hillcats are a league-worst 23-34 (.411) in contests decided by two runs or fewer...Conversely, Frederick leads the Carolina League with a 35-24 (.593) record in those same contests...Against the Keys, Lynchburg is 2-7 in one- and two-run games...The eighth and ninth innings have been the worst statistically for the Hillcats in terms of runs scored, as the opposition has outscored Lynchburg by 13 runs in the eighth and 11 runs in the ninth...Additionally, Lynchburg is a mere 3-7 in its 10 extra-inning contests this year, which is the second-worst mark in the Carolina League (Winston-Salem, 1-6), and Frederick is the second-best team in bonus baseball with a 7-3 record...

WASHINGTON SETS THE PACE: In the month of August, LeVON WASHINGTON, hitting from the leadoff spot, is 21-for-58 at the plate (.362) and has recorded a multi-hit game in seven of 13 contests...WASHINGTON has recorded three hits in five of those seven multi-hit games...Since being moved to the leadoff spot in the lineup, WASHINGTON has proven to not only be a force at the plate, but on the base paths...In 13 contests in August, WASHINGTON has put himself in position to score 13 runs by legging out four doubles, three triples and cranking out three home runs...Lynchburg has smacked 51 extra-base hits with 34 doubles, five triples, and 12 home runs in just 14 games in August to nearly double the next highest total of multi-baggers in August of any other team in the Carolina League...Frederick has 30 extra-base hits in August and Winston-Salem has 27...Frederick has recorded 19 doubles, five triples, and six home runs and Winston-Salem has 21 doubles and six home runs, but no triples in August.

STANDARD PROCEDURE: Lynchburg's barrage of extra-base hits in August is really par for the course...The Hillcats not only lead the Carolina League in batting average with a .262 clip, but they also lead in on-base percentage (.340) and slugging percentage (.416)...Specifically, Lynchburg's .416 slugging percentage is 48 points better than the next-best team, which is the Pelicans with a .368 mark...The Hillcats top the circuit in doubles (256), triples (42) and home runs (89)...That totals 387 multi-baggers, which is 102 more than the second-highest sum in the league (Myrtle Beach, 285 extra-base hits)...Individually, Lynchburg has the top three home run hitters, the top three batters in doubles, the top two in triples, and the top three in extra-base hits in the league...Overall, the top four Carolina League players in slugging percentage all established those numbers with the Hillcats (NELLIE RODRIGUEZ, BRADLEY ZIMMER, LUIGI RODRIGUEZ AND CLINT FRAZIER).

STARTERS FINISHING STRONG: After surrendering only three runs Friday night, the Hillcats ERA dropped below 4.00 for the first time since April 17 when the team had a 3.72 earned run average...At that point, the Hillcats allowed 13 and 15 runs on back-to-back nights and the team's ERA ballooned to a season-worst 5.46..The Hillcats slowly whittled that down to 4.41 by the end of the first half, and the team had 18 quality starts going into the All-Star Break, seven of which came from ADAM PLUTKO...In the second half, the Hillcats' pitching staff has posted 23 quality starts in 49 contests and turned in a 3.33 ERA since the All-Star Break, more than a full run better than the first half.

RODRIGUEZ PROMOTED, BUT SEVER FILLS SHOES: First baseman NELLIE RODRIGUEZ was promoted to Double-A Akron Monday, leaving the Carolina League as the league leader in home runs (17), RBIs (84), doubles (32), extra-base hits (51), slugging percentage (.495), total bases (196), and strikeouts (192)...JOE SEVER was transferred back to Lynchburg as a result and made an immediate impact replacing RODRIGUEZ at first base...SEVER is hitting 9-for-24 (.375) with a pair of home run, five RBIS, and six runs scored through his first six games back with the Hillcats including a four-hit performance in his first game back...The four-hit performance tied a career high for hits in a game for SEVER...In 64 games for the Hillcats, SEVER is hitting .265 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs.

THE GOOD AND THE BAD OF THE DEFENSE: Throughout the 2015 campaign, the Hillcats have been both the best and the worst when it comes to defense against opponents...This season, the Hillcats have turned 126 double-plays which is second only to the Frederick Keys who have recorded a league-high 131...However, the Hillcats have the lowest fielding percentage in the league with a .971 mark and have committed a league-high 131 errors.

Check out the Lynchburg Hillcats Statistics



Carolina League Stories from August 18, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Lynchburg Hillcats Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central