Sports stats

CarL1 Lynchburg Hillcats

Hillcats Game Notes August 21, 2015, 6:30 p.m. vs. Potomac

August 21, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (30-22, 63-60) vs. POTOMAC NATIONALS (24-28, 57-65)

Friday, August 21, 2015 -- 6:30 p.m.

Calvin Falwell Field at City Stadium

RHP Mitch Brown (8-11, 4.99) vs. RHP Austen Williams (4-3, 2.09)

LAST TIME OUT: Lynchburg won 2-1 in walk-off fashion in the conclusion of a suspended game but was no-hit by the Frederick Keys in a 2-0 nightcap loss to split a de facto doubleheader...When play resumed on Thursday, DORSSYS PAULINO led off the fourth with a double and was driven home by ERIC HAASE, who singled up the middle to tie the game at one...ANTONIO ROMERO picked up where AQUINO left off when the game was resumed on Thursday and pitched four innings giving up just one hit while striking out six batters...Lynchburg's bullpen held the Keys to just one hit through the final seven innings as JUSTIN BRANTLEY (4-5) earned the win...HAASE led off the ninth with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by MIKE PAPI...Frederick opted to intentionally walk CLAUDIO BAUTISTA and IVAN CASTILLO to load the bases with one out...LeVON WASHINGTON struck out swinging for the second out before YHOXIAN MEDINA legged out an infield single that dribbled down the third base line to score HAASE and give the Hillcats their third walk-off win of the season, 2-1...MIKEY O'BRIEN tossed seven hitless, scoreless innings for the Frederick Keys to seal a 2-0 victory in the nightcap...LUIS LUGO (7-10) earned the loss after turning in one of his best performances of the year...LUGO pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed four hits, three of which came off the bat of AUSTIN WYNNS, along with two runs while striking out six batters in the loss.

VS. POTOMAC: Lynchburg is 10-11 overall against the Potomac Nationals this season, but are just 4-6 against them at home at City Stadium...The last time the two squads met, Lynchburg took two of three games against the Nationals to win the series, including a 3-2 walk-off win in the series finale...The entire series was decided by just four total runs...The overall series between these two teams in 2015 has been remarkably competitive...Over the course of 21 games, 16 of them have been decided by two runs or less and the average margin in each game has been a mere 1.29 runs per contest...As a team this season, Lynchburg leads the league in batting average with a .262 mark at the plate, but against Potomac, that number sits at just .238...PAUL HENDRIX leads the team with a .303 batting average against the red, white and blue among current Hillcats...He has recorded a lone home run with an RBI and has 20 hits in 19 games...BRADLEY ZIMMER hit .390 in 17 games against the Nationals before being called up to Double-A Akron...If you remove his stats from the equation, the Hillcats are hitting just .223 against Potomac.

HAASE HAS THE STUFF: With a 3-for-4 performance at the plate with a trio of triples, catcher ERIC HAASE tied a Carolina League Record for triples by an individual in a single game...HAASE is the first player in the Carolina League to record three triples in a game since CHONE FIGGINS accomplished the feat as a member of the Salem Avalanche on June 7, 2000...FIGGINS went on to play 10 seasons in the Major Leagues for the Rockies, the Angels, and the Dodgers and was selected to the 2009 All-Star Team as a member of the Angels...HAASE picked up another pair of hits, including a double, in the very next game...HAASE finished the series against the Keys a 5-for-8 performance with three triples, a double, four RBIs, and three runs scored...Over his last six games, HAASE is hitting .364 with a home run, six RBIs, and four runs scored.

DOWN THE STRETCH: The Hillcats have a three game lead over the Frederick Keys with 17 games to play...The Hillcats took two of three games in a critical series against the Keys to maintain their lead in the Northern Division...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 three 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 Keys by five runs to improve to a league-best 31-16 (.660) in games decided by more than three runs....Close games tell a much different story, as the Hillcats are a league-worst 24-35 (.407) in contests decided by two runs or fewer...Against the Nationals, Lynchburg is 7-8 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 12 runs in the eighth and 10 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).

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 (.339) and slugging percentage (.417)...Specifically, Lynchburg's .417 slugging percentage is 50 points better than the next-best team, which is the Pelicans with a .367 mark...The Hillcats top the circuit in doubles (259), triples (46) and home runs (91)...That totals 396 multi-baggers, which is 103 more than the second-highest sum in the league (Myrtle Beach, 293 extra-base hits)...Individually, Lynchburg has the top three home run hitters, the top three batters in doubles, the top three 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: The Hillcats allowed just five total runs during the three-game series with the Frederick Keys over the last three days...At one point, the Hillcats' ERA had ballooned to a season-worst 5.46...However 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 25 quality starts in 52 contests and turned in a 3.28 ERA since the All-Star Break, more than a full run better than the first half.

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY: On August 21, 1931, Babe Ruth becomes the first Major Leaguer to hit 600 career home runs when the Yankees defeat the Browns, 11-7...The 36 year-old slugger hit the milestone round-tripper off right-hander George Blaeholder.

Check out the Lynchburg Hillcats Statistics



Carolina League Stories from August 21, 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