Hillcats Score Six Late Runs, Stun Red Sox, 10-5

Sports stats



CarL Salem Red Sox

Hillcats Score Six Late Runs, Stun Red Sox, 10-5

June 7, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Salem Red Sox News Release


SALEM, Va. - The Salem Red Sox (22-32) mounted a late comeback effort, but one final surge by the Lynchburg Hillcats (34-22) sealed a 10-5 win for the visitors on Saturday night at Carilion Clinic Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

With the series tied at two games apiece heading into Saturday's matchup, Lynchburg looked to gain ground in the first-half standings while the Sox aimed to play spoiler in the division race.

The Hillcats wasted no time getting on the board. A leadoff walk to Tommy Hawke, followed by a single from Welbyn Francisca and an RBI knock by Nick Mitchell, gave Lynchburg a 1-0 lead before the first out was even recorded. Jeffrey Mercedes added an RBI single, and Bennett Thompson brought home a third run on a groundout. Another tally in the second gave the Hillcats a 4-0 lead after two innings.

Salem's pitching staff then locked in, retiring 16 consecutive Hillcats hitters from the third through the seventh inning.

Tensions flared in the fifth when Blake Aita struck out Hawke on a breaking ball in the dirt. As catcher Kleyver Salazar scrambled to retrieve the dropped third strike, Hawke's cleat inadvertently kicked the ball away, allowing him to reach first. Manager Ozzie Chavez argued the call and was ejected by home plate umpire Jose Sandoval-his first ejection of the season.

The incident lit a fire under the Red Sox. In the sixth, Starlyn Nunez was hit by a pitch, followed by a walk to Yoeilin Cespedes. Natanael Yuten delivered an RBI single to plate Nunez, and Cespedes scored two batters later when Karim Ayubi was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

The Sox then erupted for three runs in the seventh to take the lead. Luis Flores walked the bases full, allowing Cespedes to bring in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Yuten came through again with a two-RBI single to make it 5-4, Salem. He finished the night 3-for-5 with three RBI.

But the lead was short-lived.

In the eighth, Lynchburg capitalized off reliever Joe Vogatsky, plating five runs to reclaim the lead. They added another pair in the ninth off Nathanael Cruz, scoring six unanswered runs in the final two innings to pull away, 10-5.

With the win, the Hillcats clinched at least a split of the six-game series and will look to take the series outright on Sunday. Salem has now dropped two straight vs. the Hillcats.

Luis Flores earned the win for Lynchburg, tossing 1.1 innings and allowing one hit, three runs (one earned), and three walks. Joe Vogatsky took the loss, giving up four runs on four hits over 2.2 innings with three strikeouts.

The series finale is set for Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. from Carilion Clinic Field. The Sox will try to salvage a split with a win in the finale.

Check out the Salem Red Sox Statistics



Carolina League Stories from June 7, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central