Hillcats Hold off 'Nats to Snap Skid
May 22, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
Lynchburg, VA- The Hillcats used a five-run inning and took advantage of a pair of Nationals errors to end a five-game losing streak, beating the Potomac Nationals 7-6 on Sunday afternoon.
In a reversal from Saturday night's game, the Hillcats jumped out to a big lead early. They scored in the first inning when Potomac third baseman Justino Cuevas committed an error with runners on first and second, allowing Andrelton Simmons to score from second base.
The Hillcats widened the gap with a five-run third inning. The Hillcats brought every batter to the plate. Simmons led off with a single, and Phil Gosselin followed with a single of his own. Adam Milligan launched a double that scored both runners. Joe Leonard walked, and Shawn McGill advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt. Barrett Kleinknect hit a sacrifice fly that scored Milligan and sent Leonard to third. Keenan Wiley singled, driving in Leonard, then stole second base. LV Ware finished off the scoring in the inning with a single, scoring Wiley from second.
Just like Saturday night, a big lead wouldn't remain comfortable. The Nationals scored five runs in the sixth inning, cutting the lead to 6-5. Steven Souza and Justino Cuevas each hit two-run home runs in the inning.
The Hillcats took advantage of another error from the Nationals in the bottom of the sixth inning. Simmons singled out to left field. He took a big turn around first, and the left fielder Chris Curran fired a ball to the infield. It missed second base, and rolled all the way to the Nationals bullpen in right field. The umpire ruled it out of play, allowing Simmons to reach third. He scored on an RBI single from Gosselin, extending the lead to 7-5.
The Hillcats gave up another home run, a solo shot, to Cuevas in the eighth inning, but Eliecer Cardenas came in to work a scoreless ninth to earn his fourth save of the year.
Lynchburg starter Cory Rasmus worked five and one-third innings, giving up four runs, to earn his first win of the year, and improved his record to 1-5. Nationals starter Paul Demny couldn't escape the big third inning, and fell to 1-4.
The Hillcats snapped a five-game losing streak, and improved to 15-26. The Nationals fell to 18-24.
Winston-Salem comes into Lynchburg Monday night for the start of a three-game series. In the first game, righty Arodys Vizcaino (2-2) will face Winston-Salem righty Andre Rienzo (1-1) First pitch is at 6:05 pm, gates will open at 5:00.
If you can't make it to the game, the Hillcats On-Deck Show presented by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg will go on the air at 5:40 pm. Tune in to 105.5 KD Country or go to lynchburg-hillcats.com to listen live to all the action.
Carolina League Stories from May 22, 2011
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