Hillcats Game Notes
Published on May 25, 2010 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Hill City Howlers News Release
THE HILLCATS: Winston-Salem completed a three-game sweep of Lynchburg with a 7-3 win on Sunday afternoon at BB&T Ballpark...The Hillcats have lost 10 of their last 12 games, are 3-13 in their last 16 contests and they have dropped 10 games under .500 for the first time this season...Tonight is the first game of a three-game set with Myrtle Beach and the fourth game of six in a row on the road...
VS. MYRTLE BEACH: The Hillcats are 1-2 against the Pelicans this season...They went 12-8 against the Birds last season and were 7-4 at BB&T Coastal Field...Lynchburg's 10-3 win at Myrtle Beach last season on June 16th clinched the first half Northern Division Championship...Myrtle Beach has the all-time advantage in the series 120-103, and they are 63-49 on the Grand Strand...
DOESN'T ADD UP: Lynchburg is second in the league in batting average with a .277 clip this season...Despite that number, the Hillcats are second to last in the league in runs scored (184), only ahead of Myrtle Beach who is easily last in the circuit in batting average (.219)...The Cats are fifth in on-base percentage (.332) and last in the league in walks (109)...They are batting .292 in the month of May as a team, but are just 8-15 in the month...
A ONE-SIDED AFFAIR: In the three-game set at Winston-Salem the Hillcats got outscored 31-10...On Saturday night the Dash had 19 hits (the most the Hillcats have allowed this season), five home runs (the Cats had not allowed more than two in a game this season and last night was the first time an opponent has homered twice in an inning) and eight extra-base hits...The 13 runs Winston-Salem scored on Friday night were the most Lynchburg has allowed this season, the ten-run difference was the biggest loss of the season and it matched their biggest blown lead this year (three runs)...The Dash outscored the Hillcats in the three fourth innings combined by a score of 12-1...Winston-Salem scored four runs in each of the fourth innings in the set... The Hillcats are now 0-6 against the Dash and in those six games they have committed 11 errors that have led to 17 unearned runs...
FIRST IS WORST: In the series at Winston-Salem the Dash became the first team against Lynchburg to: hit more than two home runs in a game (they hit five on Saturday and three on Sunday and it was also the first time they had hit more than two in a game), hit two homers in an inning (did it one on Saturday and once on Sunday), score 13 runs against (Friday), smack 19 hits against (Saturday) and they were the first team to hit to hit a home run off of RHP Jordan Hotchiss (two in the same inning on Sunday)...Also, INF Eduardo Escobar for the Dash had not hit a home run in 41 games this season before he went 4-for-5 with two homers on Saturday night and C Luis Sierra also hit his first home run of the season against the Cats...
FALLING INTO PLACE: OF Josh Fellhauer went 1-for-4 on Sunday in the final game of the series with the Dash...On Saturday night he went 3-for-5 with three doubles, an RBI and a run...He has now hit in six straight and 11 of his last 12 games, and over that time he is batting .408 (20-for-49) with five doubles, a homer, three RBI, 10 runs, three walks and two steals...He has raised his average from .255 to .298 in those 12 games...Fellhauer is fourth in the Carolina League in doubles (15) and fifth in hits (51)...
BREAKING DOWN THE BOX: RHP Brad Boxberger pitched three and 2/3 innings on Sunday and allowed five runs (four earned) and took his fourth loss of the season...The first time through the line-up his struck-out six and only allowed a single...The second time through the order he didn't strike out a batter and six of the nine he faced reached safely (four of them had extra-base hits)...The right-hander began the season 3-1 with a 1.44 ERA (four earned runs in 25 innings) in his first five starts of the season, but since then he is 0-3 with a a 7.17 ERA (13 earned runs in 16 an 1/3 innings) in his last four starts...He has only gotten through five innings in one of those outings...
UP THROUGH THE QUAD TO THE GYMNASIUM: Last night C Devin Mesoraco 1-for-4 to keep alive his consecutive on-base safely streak...He has now reached safely in his last 29 games (and hit in 25 of those)...Over that time he is batting .355 (39-for-110) with seven doubles, two triples, seven homers, 22 RBI, 18 runs scored, 14 walks and an OBP of .441...His on-base streak is the longest by a Hillcat this season and Friday night he broke the longest streak this year in the CL (26 games, OF Brandon Short, Winston-Salem)...Mesoraco is now seventh in the league in batting average (.336), third in home runs (9), fourth in on-base percentage (.417) and second in slugging percentage (.610)...
BATTLING BUCK: INF Alex Buchholz went 0-for-4 last night to bring an end to his season-best 11 game hitting streak...His streak matched the longest streak by a Hillcat this season (OF Josh Fellauer) and was tied for the fifth longest in the Carolina League this season...Over that time he went 17-for-41 (.415) with four doubles, a home run, 11 RBI, five runs and two walks...He has raised his average over that stretch from .250 to .297 prior to Sunday...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP Randall Delgado was signed by the Braves in 2006 out of Panama...In 2007 he pitched for the Dominican Braves and went 1-2 with a 2.00 ERA in 11 games (10 starts)...The next season he skipped the Gulf Coast League and posted a 3-8 mark with a 3.13 ERA in 14 starts...Last season he threw for full season Low-A Rome and had a 5-10 mark with a 4.35 ERA in 25 starts...At just 20 years of age he made his Advanced-A debut this season with Myrtle Beach and has gone 2-3 with a 3.58 ERA in nine starts...Delgado entered the season ranked as the seventh best prospect in the Braves system...He started at Lynchburg on May 9th and allowed just one run in six innings of work in a no-decision...
Carolina League Stories from May 25, 2010
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- Cats Blank Birds in Series Opener - Hill City Howlers
- Potomac Drops Kinston 9-4 - Kinston Indians
- Winston Tips Salem in Pitchers' Duel - Winston-Salem Dash
- Julius Jolts Frederick to Victory - Frederick Keys
- Potomac Nationals Game Notes - Potomac Nationals
- Johnson Activated Off D.L. - Winston-Salem Dash
- Hillcats Game Notes - Hill City Howlers
- K-Tribe Game Notes - Kinston Indians
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