Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes
May 24, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (27-15) @ POTOMAC NATIONALS (24-17)
May 24th, 2009 -- 1:05 PM
@ G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium
RHP Ronald Uviedo (2-1, 3.27) vs. RHP Jeff Mandel (5-1, 2.51)
THE HILLCATS: Lynchburg won the middle game of a three-game series last night with a 8-5 comeback win over Potomac at Pfitzner Stadium to move 12 games over .500 for the second time this season...They now have pushed their lead up to two and a half games over Potomac for first place in the Northern Division and the best record in the league...Tonight is the final game of a three-game series in Woodbridge, game seven of a seven-game road trip and the third straight series against a Northern Division opponent...This trip finishes off a stretch of 13 out of 16 on the road for the Cats...They are 10-5 thus far over that time and 4-2 on this seven-game road trip...
VS. POTOMAC: The Hillcats and Nationals met in the first series of the season and Lynchburg won three out of four games in that set...Last season the two teams split the season series 10-10 and the P-Nats were just one of two teams the Cats had a .500 record or better against last year...Lynchburg won the final five games against each other last season...They also won the last five played at the Pfitz and the Cats were 6-4 against them in Woodbridge...In the all-time series Lynchburg has the edge 145-136, but Potomac is 69-68 versus Lynchburg at home...After a 5-1 start this season against the P-Nats, the Hillcats have now won 10 of the last 11 games between these two teams and their last seven in a row in Woodbridge...
FIGHT FOR FIRST: This series is a match-up of the two top teams in the Northern Division and the Carolina League...Lynchburg secured a series win last night and in turn will retain first place after entering the series leading by just half a game...The Hillcats have held the top spot in the North almost every day of the 2009 campaign...
COMEBACK CATS AT IT AGAIN: Lynchburg trailed 5-1 through four innings last night before scoring seven unanswered runs and winning 8-5...The Hillcats plated a pair in the fifth inning, four in the seventh to take the lead and another in the ninth...It was the Cats 18th comeback victory of the season in their 42 games this season...Last season they had 22 in 138 games...
CHERRY ON TOP? Today the Hillcats look to earn their first series sweep of the season on the road...Their only sweep of the season thus far was a rain-shortened series sweep of Myrtle Beach at City Stadium earlier this month...Lynchburg is 6-5 in series finales this season...Their win a night a go secured their sixth straight series without a loss, they are 5-0-1 over that stretch...They are now 9-2-2 in their sets this year...
MARK IT DOWN: The bullpen last night for Lynchburg tossed five and 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball and earned a win, a hold and a save in the 8-5 victory...It was their 15th win, their 13th hold and their 14th save of the season...RHP Michael Dubee pitched two scoreless innings and matched his season-high with four strikeouts in earning his second hold for the Hillcats...He has now worked a a team-high 17 and 2/3 innings without allowing a run...
WHERE'S WILSON: After starting the season 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA in his first three professional starts, LHP Justin Wilson has gone 0-3 with a 9.30 earned run average in his last six outings...Last night he lasted just two and 2/3 innings and allowed five earned run...After going five innings in two of his first three starts, Wilson has only made it through five innings once since...
COMING HOME: INF Jose De Los Santos has scored 29 runs in 25 games this season for Lynchburg...Last night he scored twice and now has come across five times in this series...Friday night was the third time this season he has scored three times in a game...He also has stolen 18 bases in 25 games and three in this series...De Los Santos is tied for second in the league in runs scored and is in second in stolen bases despite the fact that he has missed 17 games with a pair of injuries...He started the four-run rally last night with a bunt he slapped over the head of the Nationals third baseman...
PUT ME IN, COACH, I'M READY TO PLAY TODAY: INF Ray Chang has proven himself ready to play when called upon this season...His 3-for-5 performance last night with three RBI extended his season-long hitting streak to 14 games...Over that stretch Chang has gone 24-for-54 (.444) with 17 RBI and 13 runs scored...His 14-game hit-streak has covered 29 Hillcats games and he has gotten a hit in 17 of the 19 games he has played in...Chang is batting .542 (13-for-24) with men in scoring position this season, including his bases clearing double with two outs in the seventh inning last night that turned a one-run deficit into a two-run Lynchburg lead...In the two games in this series he is 5-for-8 with two doubles, six RBI, a run scored and a walk...Over his last six games Chang is 12-for-23 (.522) with fur doubles, 10 RBI and five runs scored...
TODAY'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP Jeff Mandel was a 19th round selection of the Nationals in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of Baylor University...He primarily closed games for the Bears as a junior in 2006 and went 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA with eight saves in 23 games (five starts)...In his final season at Baylor in 2007 the righty went 7-8 with a 4.55 ERA in 17 games (16 starts)...He made his pro debut that year with Short Season Low-A Vermont and allowed one run in a two-inning appearance before moving up to full season Low-A Hagerstown...With the Suns he posted a 4-7 mark with a 6.71 ERA in 14 games (13 starts)...Last season he began the year back in Hagerstown and went 4-3 with a 5.21 ERA before a promotion to Potomac...With the P-Nats Mandel had a 6-6 record with a 3.68 ERA in 17 starts...This season with the P-Nats he has gone 5-1 with a 2.51 ERA in seven starts...He has made three starts against Lynchburg and has posted a 1-2 mark with a 5.82 ERA...He made his first start against the Hillcats this season and went six innings, allowed three runs and took a tough luck loss at City Stadium...
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