Hillcats vs. Pelicans Tonight
Published on June 26, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Hill City Howlers News Release
THE HILLCATS: Lynchburg got blanked 6-0 last night by Myrtle Beach at City Stadium in the first game of the second half of the season and the opening contest of a three-game series...Tonight is game two of the set with the Pelicans and the sixth game in a row at Calvin Falwell Field for the Cats...
VS. MYRTLE BEACH: The Hillcats are 7-4 against the Pelicans thus far this season and are 3-1 in the Hill City...Last year the Pelicans took the season series 13-7...Lynchburg was 6-6 against the Birds until they lost seven in a row to drop the series...Myrtle Beach has the all-time advantage in the series 113-97, but they are 51-51 in Lynchburg...
LIFE AT THE TOP: Lynchburg finished the first half of the season with the best record in the Carolina League and tied for the second most wins in all of minor league baseball with 45 victories (only behind the Birmingham Barons)...They were in first place for almost every day of the first half of the season...
STRANGE CONDITION: Tonight will be the first time the Hillcats have entered a game out of first place since April 21st, when they were a half game out of the top spot in the Northern Division...The first-half champs are a game back after their loss in the first game of the second half last night...
FALTERING OPENING ACT: Last night Lynchburg lost just their third series opener of the season and have now dropped two of their last three after starting the season 18-1 in game one contests...The loss was also their third straight, matching the Hillcats longest skid of the season...The shutout last night was the sixth time this season the Cats have been blanked and the second time in four games against the Pelicans they have failed to score...
MISSING ALL-STARS: The Hillcats three player All-Star representatives, C Kris Watts, OF Miles Durham and RHP R.J. Rodriguez, did not appear in last night's game...Watts got the night off, Durham has been promoted to double-A Altoona and Rodriguez didn't work out of the bullpen...Watts went 0-for-2, Durham 0-for-4 and Rodriguez worked 2/3 of a scoreless inning in the mid-summer classic on Tuesday night in Lake Elsinore, California...INF Chase d'Arnaud, who made his Hillcats debut last night (0-for-3 with a walk), was an All-Star selection in the South Atlantic League...He went 1-for-1 in that game that was played in his home park in Charleston, West Virginia, Appalachian Power Park...
FOILED BY FORMER MATES: LHP Jeff Locke lasted seven innings and allowed just three runs, but took the loss to his former team last night...He made his first 10 starts of the season with Myrtle Beach and spent three plus years in the Atlanta Braves organization...The Pelicans smacked ten hits off of him en route to the victory...Locke started opposite Braves prospect LHP Cole Rohrbough, who shutout the Hillcats for five and 2/3 innings...Entering the season Locke was the seventh ranked prospect in the Braves system and Rohrbough was the sixth...The two pitched together last season in Low-A Rome...
BITTERSWEET DEPARTURE: Following the conclusion of the first half of the season on Sunday, four Hillcats were notified of their promotion to Double-A Altoona...3B Pedro Alvarez, OF Miles Durham, RHP Michael Dubee and RHP Dustin Molleken all have earned the call-up to the Curve...Alvarez was leading the league in RBI (55) and second in the circuit in homers (14)...He hit his first home run with Altoona in his second game last night and homered again today in a Curve win...Durham was leading the league in hits (73), tied for third in doubles (19), tied for fourth in triples (4) and tied for second in extra-base hits (30)...Dubee was posting a 1.05 ERA in his 23 appearances with Lynchburg and had 53 strike outs to three walks in 37 and 1/3 innings of work this season overall...Molleken was 3-1 with a 3.48 earned run average in his second season with the Cats...Durham will remain on the Hillcats roster until tomorrow...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP Jacob Thompson was selected by the Braves in the fifth round of the 2008 draft out of the University of Virginia...Out of Tunstall high school in Dry Fork, Virginia, he returns to Central Virginia to make his first start against Lynchburg tonight...His sophomore season at UVA he went 11-0 with a 1.50 ERA and two complete game shutouts in 17 games (16 starts) for the Cavaliers...His junior year and his final season with the Cavs, he went 6-4 with a 4.30 ERA in 15 starts...He made his professional debut that same year at the Rookie level with Danville and went 0-0 with a 1.93 ERA in two games (one start)...He also made one start with Low-A Rome, taking a no-decision as he allowed just one run in five innings of work...He returned to Rome this season and went 2-5 with a 5.20 ERA in 11 starts before getting the call-up to Myrtle Beach...In three starts with the Pelicans he has gone 0-1 with a 3.06 ERA...
Carolina League Stories from June 26, 2009
- Rocks Come From Behind to Earn Win - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Winston-Salem Evens Series at One Game a Piece - Frederick Keys
- Myrtle Beach Tops Lynchburg - Hill City Howlers
- Nats Let Game Two Slip Away - Potomac Nationals
- Loman Helps Dash Slip Past Keys - Winston-Salem Dash
- Federowicz Shines in Salem Debut as Red Sox Blast Indians Again - Salem RidgeYaks
- Salem Clips Kinston 7-0 - Kinston Indians
- The Pelicans' Starter Allowed Just Three Hits in Seven Shutout Innings - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Hillcats vs. Pelicans Tonight - Hill City Howlers
- Espinosa Selected to All Star Futures Game - Potomac Nationals
- Former Hillcats Chosen for Futures Game - Hill City Howlers
- Heyward Named to US Futures Team - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- California League Walks Off With All-Star Win - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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