Hillcats Game Notes June 12, 2015, 7:05 P.M at Myrtle Beach
Published on June 12, 2015 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Hill City Howlers News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (29-31) vs. MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS (35-24)
Friday, June 12, 2015 -- 7:05 p.m.
TicketReturn.com Field
RHP Michael Peoples (4-3, 6.94) vs. RHP Tyler Skulina (2-3, 4.07)
LAST TIME OUT: Lynchburg smacked 10 extra-base hits, including eight doubles and a home run, to run away with a 10-4 victory over Salem at LewisGale Field Thursday night...NELLIE RODRIGUEZ, LUIGI RODRIGUEZ, ERIC HAASE and MIKE PAPI each had multiple extra-base hits, including NELLIE RODRIGUEZ'S ninth homer of the season... Initially, Salem took a 1-0 lead in the third with an RBI single by WENDELL RIJO that scored YOILAN CERSE, but Lynchburg responded in the next half-inning with two runs on three hits to grab the lead...PAUL HENDRIX singled, and NELLIE RODRIGUEZ knocked him in with his 18th double of the year to tie the game, 1-1... Two batters later, PAPI plated NELLIE RODRIGUEZ with a single to give the Hillcats the lead, 2-1...With a 2-1 lead in hand, the Hillcats broke the game wide open with a six-run sixth that featured four doubles and a home run...HENDRIX doubled to open the frame, and NELLIE RODRIGUEZ followed by blasting a 3-0 fastball deep over the left-field fence...Later in the frame, PAPI and HAASE hit back-to-back doubles, giving HAASE his 22nd RBI of the year...IVAN CASTILLO doubled home HAASE, and LUIGI RODRIGUEZ singled to bring in CASTILLO...Lynchburg led 7-1 at that point, and CLINT FRAZIER tacked on the final run of the frame with a base hit to score LUIGI RODRIGUEZ and stretch the margin to 8-1...HAASE hit his fourth triple of the year to left-center field to begin the eighth, and LUIGI RODRIGUEZ doubled to make the score 9-1...PAPI doubled in the ninth, and ALEX MONSALVE scored to make it 10-2 at the time...Salem pushed two across in the final frame to lead to a 10-4 final score...
VS. MYRTLE BEACH: Myrtle Beach swept a four-game series at City Stadium earlier this year, which included a 14-6 drubbing in the finale...Lynchburg and Myrtle Beach will square off a total of 17 times in 2015...This series marks the first trip to Myrtle Beach for the Hillcats this year, though they will play seven of their final 10 games before the All-Star Break at TicketReturn.com Field...Last year, both Lynchburg and Carolina (the 2014 Indians affiliate) went 7-13 against the Pelicans...Lynchburg only hit .240 in the first matchup with Myrtle Beach and failed to hit a home run...SS IVAN CASTILLO went 6-for-13 with a double and a triple...For the Pelicans, 1B JACOB ROGERS went 8-for-16 with a double, two home runs and six RBIs...
I HOPE YOU DIDN'T MAKE ANY PLANS: Outfielders BRADLEY ZIMMER and LUIGI RODRIGUEZ and first baseman NELLIE RODRIGUEZ have been named to the 2015 Carolina League All-Star Team...This marks the fifth straight season the Hillcats have sent at least three players to the midsummer contest...In each of the past two All-Star games, a Lynchburg player has claimed the Carolina League Star of Stars honor with KYLE WREN earning that distinction last year and ROBBY HEFFLINGER winning the MVP award the season before...Through 59 games, ZIMMER'S nine home runs are tied for the Carolina League lead with teammates and fellow All-Stars LUIGI RODRIGUEZ and NELLIE RODRIGUEZ...ZIMMER is also tied for the league lead with 25 stolen bases, and he has scored 49 runs this season, which is 11 more than anyone else on the circuit...ZIMMER ranks second in the league with 64 hits and a .410 on-base percentage, and third with a .512 slugging percentage. His .309 batting average ranks fourth in the league, as do his 28 walks....LUIGI RODRIGUEZ has matched Zimmer's home run total this season with nine and ranks second n the Carolina League with a .517 slugging percentage. LUIGI RODRIGUEZ ranks fourth in the league with 35 runs and fifth with 14 stolen bases...NELLIE RODRIGUEZ currently leads the Carolina League in RBIs with 48 and is tied at the top of the charts with his nine home runs...He has the most extra-base hits in the league with 28 while his .505 slugging percentage ranks fourth...
WHAT IF THEY FORMED THEIR OWN TEAM? Lynchburg's three All-Star representatives have combined for 27 home runs this year, which is more than Winston-Salem, Wilmington, Salem, and Myrtle Beach have as an entire team...All three players have a slugging percentage above .500 and rank in the top four of the Carolina League in that category...The three have also combined for 105 runs and 117 RBIs...
PAPI PICKS IT UP: Thanks to his 4-for-5 effort at Salem last night, MIKE PAPI'S batting average is above .200 for the first time this season, jumping from .195 to .212 yesterday...PAPI began the year 1-for-30 (.033) and has been trying to recover ever since...PAPI is batting .438 over his last 11 games, which includes three different three-hit games...He went 3-for-3 in two separate contests against Winston-Salem and set a career high with four hits in a contest yesterday...PAPI also has five doubles and four RBIs in his past 11 contests, which accounts for nearly half of his season totals in each of those categories...
WE'LL TAKE BOTH OF THESE: Lynchburg also swept the Carolina League Player and Pitcher of the Week Awards for June 1-7, as NELLIE RODRIGUEZ and ANTONIO ROMERO both received recognition by the Carolina League Monday afternoon...RODRIGUEZ went 9-for-17 (.529) with two doubles, a triple, and two home runs for an absurd slugging percentage of 1.118 and an OPS 1.697...RODRIGUEZ tied his career high with five RBIs in a game Saturday, which included the first grand slam of his career and the first by a Hillcat since ROBBY HEFFLINGER on June 24, 2013...ROMERO made his first start as a professional and held Winston-Salem to an unearned run on only two hits in five innings...The Hillcats have now claimed both awards in the same week twice in the last three chances...BRADLEY ZIMMER and ADAM PLUTKO swept the Carolina League weekly accolades for the week of May 18-24...Prior to that, the Hillcats had not won both awards simultaneously since 2007...
Carolina League Stories from June 12, 2015
- Three Run Fifth Leads to 4-1Potomac Win over Frederick - Potomac Nationals
- Nationals Use Three-Run Fifth to Top Keys - Frederick Keys
- Hillcats Slip Past Birds with Late Rally - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Quick-Strike Ninth Gives Hillcats 1-0 Win at Myrtle Beach - Hill City Howlers
- Wilmington Struggles to Find Offense in Series-Opening Loss to Salem - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Curcio Clubs First Home Run in 8-2 Victory - Carolina Mudcats
- Travis Leads Red Sox to 4-2 Win - Salem RidgeYaks
- Mudcats Upend Dash in Friday's Series Opener - Winston-Salem Dash
- Hillcats Game Notes June 12, 2015, 7:05 P.M at Myrtle Beach - Hill City Howlers
- June 12 Carolina Mudcats Game Information - Carolina Mudcats
- Dash to Host GFW Wrestling Event at BB&T Ballpark - Winston-Salem Dash
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (June 12 at Carolina) - Winston-Salem Dash
- RHP Zach Isler Promoted to Birmingham - Winston-Salem Dash
- Sloppy sixth upends Pelicans in Frederick - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Keys Gain Ground Thanks to Five-Run Sixth - Frederick Keys
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