CarL1 Lynchburg Hillcats

Hillcats Game Notes August 6th

Published on August 6, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


Lynchburg lost 2-1 in walk-off fashion yesterday at Kinston in the series finale of a three-game set...The defeat dropped the Hillcats to 5-5 in rubber matches and 7-11 in day games this season...Tonight the Cats play the first game of this four-game series and game four of a seven-game road trip that will complete a stretch of 13 out of 17 on the road...

VS. MYRTLE BEACH: The Hillcats are 8-5 against the Pelicans thus far this season and are 4-3 on the Grand Strand...Last year the Pelicans took the season series 13-7...Lynchburg was 6-6 against the Birds until they lost seven in a row to drop the series...Myrtle Beach has the all-time advantage in the series 114-98, and they are 62-46 at home...

TROUBLES ON THE BACK END: In the last eight games the Lynchburg bullpen has taken three losses, two of which have been in walk-off-fashion...During those eight games the relievers earned run average has been 7.28 (24 earned runs in 29 and 2/3 innings)...That includes the 13 runs the pen allowed in Tuesday night's 15-3 loss to the Indians...In the first half of the season the bullpen went 19-6 with a 3.40 ERA and converted 23 of 27 save chances...During the second half the pen has gone 9-9 with a 4.67 ERA and is just five out of 10 in save opportunities...In his last nine appearances RHP Mike Colla he has allowed 20 earned runs in 18 and 1/3 innings (9.64 ERA) pitched...Over that time he has raised his ERA from 0.86 (three earned runs in 31 and 1/3 innings) to 4.17...RHP Chris Cullen has allowed 14 runs in his last 14 and 2/3 innings pitched (eight games) to raise his ERA from 2.72 to 4.31...LHP Paul Mildren has allowed 18 earned runs in his last 10 innings pitched (eight games) to move his ERA from 4.06 to 5.75...

STARTING STRONG: The starters in the last eight games have posted a 1.64 ERA (seven earned runs in 38 and 1/3 innings) but have only gotten one win to show for it...In the last four games combined the Hillcats starters have a 1.04 ERA (two earned runs in 17 and 1/3 innings), but are averaging less than five innings per start...

ONLY THE LONG BALL: All three runs that were scored in yesterdays contest were on home runs...There were only four hit sin the game and three of them were big flies...Lynchburg was held to just one hit and OF Jared Keel, who homered, was the only Hillcat to get past first base...

ALL OVER AGAIN: Yesterday in a day game on the road in a series finale, the Hillcats starter (LHP Justin Wilson) allowed just one hit on one home run and the Cats eventually lost 2-1 in walk-off-fashion...Exactly one week earlier in a day game on the road in a series finale, the Hillcats starter (LHP Jeff Locke) allowed one run on one hit and the Cats eventually lost 2-1 in walk-off fashion...Yesterday's loss was at Kinston and last Wednesday's loss was at Wilmington...

THE BIG BANG INNING: Lynchburg led 1-0 through five innings on Tuesday night before the Indians scored 12 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning...The K-Tribe had not scored a run in the first 14 innings of the series before they put up the biggest inning of the season against the Hillcats this season...It was the second most runs scored in an inning ever against the Cats, second only to the 13 runs the Tribe scored in the second inning on June 19th, 2008...The huge frame led to the most runs scored (15), the most hits (19), and the biggest deficit (12) against the Cats all season long...Kinston had the first 11 men reach and score with still no outs recorded in the inning...The K-Tribe brought 15 men to the plate in the inning and hit two grand slams...Prior to this loss Lynchurg was 42-4 when leading after five innings this season...

WONDERFUL WILLIE: LHP Justin Wilson allowed just one run on one hit in five innings of work yesterday at Kinston...The run scored on the lefty in the first inning stopped a streak of 15 and 1/3 innings without allowing a run...He has gone five innings or more in six of his last seven starts after he got through five innings just five times in his first 14 outings...In his last six starts the former Fresno State Bulldog is 2-0 with a 1.72 ERA (six earned runs in 31 and 1/3 innings)...

TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP Erik Cordier is slated to throw in game one of the doubleheader for Myrtle Beach...He was originally drafted in the second round by Kansas City in 2004 out of Southern Door high school...That year he made 11 starts with the Royals Arizona League team and went 2-4 with a 5.19 ERA...After missing all of 2005 with a knee injury, Cordier began 2006 with Idaho Falls at the Rookie level and in three starts he went 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA before his promotion to Low-A Burlington...He made seven starts with the Bees and posted a 3-1 record with a 2.70 ERA before his season was cut short due to Tommy John Surgery that would force him to miss all of 2007...In March of that year he was traded to the Braves for INF Tony Pena Jr....Last season he began with the GCL Braves and he did not have a decision or allow a run in three games (two starts)...He advanced to Low-A Rome where he went 1-2 with a 5.18 ERA in nine starts...Cordier has made 18 starts this season for Myrtle Beach, and has gone 5-4 with a 3.40 ERA...Tonight is his fourth start of the season against Lynchburg, he is 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA (two earned runs in 15 innings) in his three outings against the Hillcats...In his start versus the Cats on June 16th, he tossed a complete game seven-inning shutout...

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Carolina League Stories from August 6, 2009


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