Hillcats Game Notes July 10, 2015, 7 P.M vs. Wilmington
Published on July 10, 2015 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Hill City Howlers News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (6-7, 39-44) vs. WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS (8-5, 46-37)
Friday, July 10, 2015 -- 7 p.m.
Calvin Falwell Field at Lynchburg City Stadium
RHP Michael Peoples (5-3, 5.22) vs. RHP Alec Mills (6-4, 2.20)
LAST TIME OUT: Lynchburg was swept in a doubleheader by the Potomac Nationals losing game one, 3-2, in walk-off fashion and game two, 4-2, on Thursday afternoon... In the first game of a doubleheader, DACE KIME went toe-to-toe against PHILLIPS VALDEZ in an old-fashioned pitchers' duel...The contest went scoreless through the first three innings before the Hillcats broke through in the top of the fourth...Lynchburg cranked out three straight hits to begin the inning and loaded the bases...ERIC HAASE hit a sacrifice fly to left to score NELLIE RODRIGUEZ that put the 'Cats up 1-0...In the very next at-bat, CLAUDIO BAUTISTA singled to score MIKE PAPI and give Lynchburg a 2-0 lead...DACE KIME turned in one of his best performances with the Hillcats through six innings after he only allowed three hits and no walks without surrendering a run...He tied a season-high with Lynchburg with five strikeouts...However, in the bottom of the seventh, KIME walked a batter and allowed a single before giving way to BEN HELLER, who came in to attempt the save...HELLER, who had not blown a save since April 16, entered the game with runners at first and second...JOHN WOOTEN singled to left on the first pitch he saw to drive home SPENCER KIEBOOM and bring the game within one...HELLER then tried to intentionally walk BRANDON MILLER, but sailed the pitch over the head of ERIC HAASE and allowed DREW WARD to score from third to tie the game, blowing the save...MILLER grounded out to third, but with two outs KHAYYAN NORFORK rifled a ball into the gap in left-center to score WOOTEN from third to seal the walk-off, comeback win...Game two of the doubleheader started off in a similar fashion...ANTONIO ROMERO worked two scoreless innings in a spot start to begin the game before surrendering a run in the bottom of the third...GRANT DEBRUIN hammered a sacrifice fly that scored CODY DENT to make it 1-0 P-Nats...Lynchburg responded in the top of the fourth with a RBI single by MIKE PAPI that scored BRADLEY ZIMMER from second to even the contest...Potomac broke the game open in the home half of the fifth inning scoring three runs in the frame...ESTARLIN MARTINEZ singled to lead off the inning, stole second base and eventually stole home to break the tie and give the Nationals a 2-1 lead...After a walk by STEPHEN PEREZ, Potomac ripped off three straight singles with RBIs from JOHN WOOTEN and DREW WARD to extend the lead to 4-1...With Lynchburg trailing entering the seventh inning, MIKE PAPI led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on an error by ESTARLIN MARTINEZ...SICNARF LOOPSTOK, who had not recorded a sacrifice fly in his career before joining the Hillcats, recorded his second of the season to drive home PAPI and bring Lynchburg within two, 4-2...YHOXIAN MEDINA could not extend the rally, however, as he lined out to second to end the game.
VS. WILMINGTON: Lynchburg is 5-5 overall against the Wilmington Blue Rocks this season and are 2-1 against them at home at City Stadium...The last time the two squads met, Lynchburg took the first game of the series, but dropped the final two...In the rubber match of the series, Wilmington used an eight run eighth to steal away a 9-6 win...IVAN CASTILLO leads all Hillcat hitters with a minimum of five games played with a .371 average against the Blue Rocks...In nine games, CASTILLO has recorded two triples and has swiped two bags...CLINT FRAZIER is hitting just .194 in nine games against Wilmington, but leads the team with nine RBIs...As a team, Lynchburg is hitting .266 against Wilmington which is 10 full points higher than their season average...It also marks the highest batting average of any team against the Blue Rocks...Frederick is second with a .252 average.
MAN OF THE PEOPLES: MICHAEL PEOPLES will be on the bump for the Hillcats tonight against the Wilmington Blue Rocks...Peoples is just 0-3 in five career appearances against Wilmington in his career, but the Hillcats have been on a roll with him on the mound recently...PEOPLES has earned a win or a no-decision in each of his last nine starts...Over the course of those nine games, Lynchburg is 7-2, but the most recent loss came against Wilmington when the Blue Rocks scored eight runs in the eighth inning to steal away a 9-6 victory...Peoples allowed just one run, a solo homer, in six innings in the start.
DOUBLE DIP WOES: Lynchburg has played in nine doubleheaders this season, which ties Myrtle Beach for the most by any team in the Carolina League..With the pair of losses on Thursday to Potomac, the Hillcats have been swept in five of their nine doubleheaders...The 'Cats are now 6-12 in doubleheaders, which is the worst record in the Carolina League....Last year, Lynchburg only played in four doubleheaders the entire season...If the Hillcats play one more doubleheader this season, it will mark the most in a year since the online database started tracking the statistic (2005)...The Hillcats played nine twinbills in 2013.
SO CLOSE, YET, SO FAR: With a 3-2 loss to Potomac in the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday, the Hillcats are now 7-13 in one-run games this season...Nine of those one-run games have been played against the Potomac Nationals with Lynchburg holding a 5-4 advantage...Against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Hillcats have only played a single one-run contest in which Wilmington won 3-2.
AYE PAPI!: Outfielder MIKE PAPI has been unstoppable in his last 11 games...During that span, PAPI has recorded at least one hit in each contest and is 16-for-37 (.432) with two home runs, seven doubles, 12 RBIs, and eight runs scored...eight of PAPI'S RBIs during his hit streak have come in the last seven games...He has also recorded a double in each of his last five games...He needs a hit in today's game to tie the longest streak by a Hillcats batter this season (LUIGI RODRIGUEZ, 12).
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY: On July 10, 1932, Indians' flychaser Johnny Burnett in 11 at-bats collects a record nine hits in an 18-inning game in which the A's outscore the Tribe, 18-17. After replacing A's starter Lew Krause in the second inning, Ed Rommel, who gives up a record 29 hits, is forced to hurl 17 innings in relief to get the victory, his 171st and final major league win, when manager/owner Connie Mack, trying to save train fare, brings only two pitchers.
Carolina League Stories from July 10, 2015
- Penalver Leads Charge in Walk-Off over Mudcats - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Potomac Defeats Dash 4-2 in Series Opener - Potomac Nationals
- Late Rally Falls Short as Rocks Drop Series Opener to Lynchburg - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Big Innings Help Hillcats Win Series Opener, 6-5 - Hill City Howlers
- Jones Works Scoreless Eighth in Dash's 4-2 Loss - Winston-Salem Dash
- Red Sox Utilize Double Play Ball to Take Series Opener - Frederick Keys
- Double Plays Lead Sox Past Keys, 5-2 - Salem RidgeYaks
- Potomac Nationals Game Notes at Winston-Salem Dash - Potomac Nationals
- July 10 - Carolina Mudcats Game Information - Carolina Mudcats
- Winston-Salem Dash: Game Notes (July 10 vs. Potomac) - Winston-Salem Dash
- Hillcats Game Notes July 10, 2015, 7 P.M vs. Wilmington - Hill City Howlers
- Pelicans Game Notes: 7:05 p.m. ET vs. Carolina Mudcats - July 10, 2015 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Former Infielder Saladino Promoted to White Sox - Winston-Salem Dash
- Big League Right-Hander Nate Jones to Rehab with Dash - Winston-Salem Dash
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