Hillcats game notes
Published on April 25, 2008 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Hill City Howlers News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (8-12) @ KINSTON INDIANS (5-12)
APRIL 25th, 2008 -- 7:00 PM
@ Grainger Stadium
LHP Tony Watson (0-3, 4.34) vs. RHP Jeanmar Gomez (0-2, 8.53)
LAST GAME: The Cats started a four-game series with the K-Tribe by winning the series opener 7-5 at Grainger Stadium last night...Both teams scored four runs in the fifth to make it a 4-4 game heading into the final three innings...Cats catcher Chris Jones belted his first professional home run in the seventh to give the Green and Gold the lead for good...Reliever Jacob Cuffman (1-0) earned his first win as a Hillcat and closer Kyle Pearson earned his fourth save in as many opportunities...The Hillcats improved to 4-4 on their current 11-game road trip...
VS. KINSTON: Last season the Indians won the season series against the Hillcats 12-8...The Cats hold the all-time edge 131-126...But in Kinston the K-Tribe has a 73-58 advantage...
AS GOOD AS IT GETS: Hillcats reliever Kyle Pearson is tied for the league lead with four saves and is yet to allow a run this season in seven appearances (9.2 ip)...In the righthanders first appearance of the year he threw just nine pitches, all strikes and struckout all three of the batters he faced...
ALL OR NOTHING: In the Hillcats eight wins this year they are averaging 8.1 runs per game, while they are averaging just 1.8 runs per game in their 12 losses...Last Sunday they got shutout for the fifth time this season in 16 games...In 2007 the Hillcats were only shutout seven times in 137 contests...
LOVIN' THE LONG BALL: After going 12 games in a row without a home run and only hitting three round trippers in the first 16 games the Hillcats have blasted four dingers in their last four games, including two in last night's series opening win...
KEEPS ON ROLLING: Third baseman Jim Negrych continued his assault on the Carolina League last night with his third straight multi-hit game and his eleventh multi-hit game this season in just 19 games played...He entered the day first in the league in hits (27) and in batting average (.392), third in on-base percentage (.438), tied for fourth in RBI (12) and tied for fifth in runs scored (13)...The former sixth round pick from 2006 has reached safely in 18 of the 19 games he has played in this season, including his first 15 games played...
PEOPLE CAN CHANGE: INF and sometimes OF Eddie Prasch had played 336 games in four years as a professional entering this season and had never played any position other than third base before playing right field for three of the last four games the Cats have played...The Hillcats also have three other players (Jim Negrych, Angel Gonzalez and Jared Keel) who are playing a different position than they primarily played in 2007...Two of which (Negrych and Gonzalez) that had never professionally played the position they are this season...
CHANGING THINGS UP: Baseball America said LHP Tony Watson has the "Best Changeup" in the Pirates minor league system...The ninth round selection in the 2007 struckout 58 batters in 67.2 ip and walked just eight...
KNOWN FOR HIS "D": INF Brian Friday was named the "Best Defensive Infielder" in the Pirates minor league organization by Baseball America prior to the start of the 2008 season...Friday was a third round pick of the Pirates in last year's draft out of Rice University...He was a member of their World Series teams in 2006 and 2007, which finished third in the country...
TOP PROSPECTS: Three of the Pirates' top 30 prospects from Baseball America are beginning the year with the Hillcats...LHP Daniel Moskos (#5) posted a combined ERA of 3.45 in 13 appearances with no decisions and one save with the GCL Pirates and the State College Spikes...LHP Tony Watson (#11) went 6-1 with a 2.52 ERA in 10 starts in State College prior to a late season call-up to Hickory...Watson was named to the New York-Penn League mid-season All-Star team...INF Brian Friday (#12) batted .295 with two home runs and 13 RBI for State College in 40 games...
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