Hillcats Take What's Given to Them
Published on August 18, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Hill City Howlers News Release
Lynchburg, VA- The Hillcats won the first game of a four-game series Thursday night with the assistance of the Keys defense. Frederick shortstop Manny Machado committed three errors and the Hillcats scored four unearned runs to take the 5-2 win.
The Keys started the game off with a bang. Leadoff hitter Steve Bumbry took a pitch from Chris Masters and put it over the right field wall to give the Keys an early 1-0 lead.
With one out in the bottom of the first, Andrelton Simmons singled. He stole second, and then Phil Gosselin hit a grounder to short. Manny Machado committed his first error of the game, allowing Gosselin to reach first. Starter Ryohei Tanaka threw a wild pitch, allowing the runners to advance to second and third. Joey Terdoslavich grounded out to first, but Simmons scored from third on the play. Gosselin then scored on an RBI single by Joe Leonard, giving the Hillcats a 2-1 lead after one inning.
The Keys tied the game in the top of the third. Machado and Kipp Schutz hit back-to-back doubles with two outs to knot up the game at two.
More miscues by the Keys allowed the Hillcats to put a pair on the board in the bottom of the third. Todd Cunningham led off the inning with a double. Simmons bunted him over to third. Tanaka uncorked his second wild pitch of the game to allow Cunningham to score. Gosselin, who was at the plate when the wild pitch was thrown, singled through the hole into left field. After Terdoslavich flew out to center, Gosselin stole second with Joe Leonard at the plate. Leonard hit a grounder to short that got under the glove of Machado. The ball went into left field, and Gosselin scored to make the score 4-2 Hillcats.
Simmons led off the fifth inning by reaching first on a third error by Machado. The ball was hit to Machado's left, and when he moved over to make the play, it bounced off his glove towards second base. Phil Gosselin hit a ball towards the gap in left-center. Simmons reached third, and Gosselin made a play for second. The throw came in to second from centerfielder Miguel Abreu, and it bounced away from the base. Simmons saw this and scampered home, giving the Hillcats a 5-2 lead.
Starter Chris Masters (8-5) pitched very well for the Hillcats. After giving up the run in the top of the third, he gave up just four more singles in the game, and didn't give up another run. He left the game after pitching six and two-thirds innings, giving up just two runs and striking out seven. Tanaka (8-5) took the loss despite giving up just one earned run.
The Hillcats won their third straight and are now 23-30 in the second half. They remained five games behind Potomac in the race for a playoff spot after the Nationals beat Winston-Salem 4-3. Frederick fell to 33-20.
The four-game series continues Friday night at City Stadium. Lefty Matt Crim (1-8) will take the mound for the Hillcats, while the Keys will counter with fellow southpaw Rick Zagone (3-1). First pitch is at 7:05 pm and the gates will open at 6.
The Hillcats On-Deck Show presented by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg will go on the air at 6:40 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 August 18, 2011
- Kinston Wins 9-3 - Kinston Indians
- Indians Drill Pelicans 9-3 in Series Opener - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Hillcats Take What's Given to Them - Hill City Howlers
- Five Errors Equals One Loss - Frederick Keys
- Three-Run Fourth, Fortunate Ninth Highlight 4-3 P-Nats Win - Potomac Nationals
- Umpires, P-Nats Edge Dash 4-3 - Winston-Salem Dash
- Red Sox and Blue Rocks Postponed Thursday Night - Salem RidgeYaks
- Rocks and Sox Postponed - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
- Pelicans Game Notes - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Hill City Howlers
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