Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes
Published on April 9, 2007 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Hill City Howlers News Release
THE HILLCATS...continue a six-game homestand with the second of four games against the Frederick Keys...Defeated the Keys 3-1 on Sunday afternoon to earn their first win of the season...Did not allow an extra-base hit in the win...Have been outscored 19-8 while being outhit 27-19 in the first 3 games of the season...Had a 5-game Opening Day win streak snapped on Thursday...Still, are 8-5 all-time on Opening Day, outscoring opponents 67-35 in those contests...
2007 vs. FREDERICK: Lynchburg leads the season series, 1 game to none....Lynchburg narrowly captured the 2006 season series, 10 games to 9...Overall, the Hillcats lead the lifetime series 123-113 (.521) including a 66-56 (.541) advantage in Lynchburg...
START ME UP: RHP Derek Hankins earned the team's first win of the year yesterday, allowing just 1 unearned run in 5.1 innings of work...The 23-year old allowed just two singles, both to 2B Jonathan Tucker while throwing just 74 pitches (13.9/ip)....
HOT BULLPEN: 7 Hillcats relievers have combined to toss 17.1 innings in the first 3 games of the season... They have posted a collective 3.12 ERA (6 er/17.1 ip) in those innings...LHP Brian Holliday and RHP Patrick Bresnehan combined on 3.2 innings of scoreless relief in yesterday's win...
DELANEY DELIVERS: OF Jason Delaney reached base safely in 3 of 4 plate appearances while going 2-for-3 with a solo home run on Sunday afternoon...The opposite field shot in the 6th inning off LHP Richard Salazar was the team's 2nd HR of the season (Shelby Ford, 4/5)...
DEBUT: INF Tony Mansalino went 2-for-3 with an RBI-single in his Hillcats debut on Sunday afternoon...The Fordham (NY) University product hit 30-for-100 (.300) with runners in scoring position last season with Hickory...
DEBUT II: 3B Tripper Johnson went 3-for-3 with an RBI-triple and a walk on Opening Night ...The former 32nd-overall pick in the 2000 June draft was signed by Pirates' as a minor league free agent this past off-season...Johnson was named an Eastern League all-star in 2005...
LONG BALL: 2B Shelby Ford connected on the first Hillcats homerun of the year, a 3-run shot to right field off Potomac right-hander Craig Stammen on Opening Night...Ford also singled in his final at-bat to conclude the evening 2-for-4 with a walk...The Fort Worth, TX native was selected in the 3rd round of the 2006 draft out of Oklahoma State University...
BACK IN ACTION: DH Bobby Kingsbury went 1-for-3 with a walk on Thursday night in his first regular season action since 9/4/2005 against Salem....The Fordham University product tore his rotator cuff last spring, forcing him to miss the entire 2006 campaign...Kingsbury will be used solely as a DH while fully recovering from the injury...
TOP PROSPECTS: Three of the Pirates' top-ten prospects according to Baseball America have begun the year with the Lynchburg Hillcats...1B Steve Pearce (# 7) combined to hit .273-26-98 last season between Lynchburg and Hickory (A)...OF Brad Corley (# 9) led all Pirates' farmhands in RBIs (100) while garnering mid- and post-season All-Star honors in the South Atlantic League...RHP Todd Redmond (# 10) led the organization with 148 strikeouts and went 13-6 with a 2.75 ERA in the South Atlantic League...
TONIGHT'S OPPONENT: David Hernandez, 21, is a 6-2, 180-pound right-hander drafted by Baltimore in the 16th round of the 2005 draft. The Miami, FL native went 7-8 with a 4.15 ERA (28 gs, 145.1 ip, 134 h, 83 r, 67 er, 71 bb, 154 k) last year and ranked 4th in the SAL in strikeouts The youngster led the Shorebirds in starts but did issue 22 wild pitches. He began his professional career with (A, NY-Penn) in 2005and posted a 1-2 record with a 3.89 ERA while holding right-handers to a .193 average.
Carolina League Stories from April 9, 2007
- Nationals Drop Home Opener - Potomac Nationals
- Missed Opportunities Doom Pelicans in 3-2 Loss - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Pitching carries Warthogs to a 3-2 Win over Myrtle Beach - Winston-Salem Dash
- Lisson Homer Leads Rocks To Win, 2-1 - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Avalanche one-hits Nationals - Salem RidgeYaks
- Hodges' homer not enough - Kinston Indians
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Hill City Howlers
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