CarL1 Lynchburg Hillcats

Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes

Published on May 24, 2011 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


WINSTON-SALEM DASH (19-25) @ LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (16-26)

May 24th, 2011 -- 6:05 PM

Calvin Falwell Field at Lynchburg City Stadium

RHP Ryan Buch (-, -) vs. LHP Chris Masters (3-2, 2.70)

THE HILLCATS: Monday the Hillcats beat the Potomac Nationals 2-1 in extra innings...Down 1-0 in the ninth inning, the Dash forced extra innings scoring on a wild pitch with two outs tying the game at 1-1...INF Joe Leonard won the game for the 'Cats with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th...The Hillcats sit in fourth place in the Carolina League Northern Division, now 9.5 games back of the first place Wilmington Blue Rocks...

VS. WINSTON-SALEM: The Hillcats are 2-3 against the Dash in 2011...The two teams first met in Winston-Salem, May 5-8...Despite hitting .296 as a team through the four-game series, the 'Cats dropped three of four, after winning the opener...Last season the Dash won the season series 16-4 against Lynchburg...The former Braves Advanced-A affiliate, Myrtle Beach Pelicans, nearly split the season series nine out of 20 from Winston-Salem a season ago...

FREE BASEBALL: Last night, the Hillcats and Dash needed two extra innings to decide a victor...It was just the second game to go to extra innings for the Hillcats this season, but it was the ninth for the Dash...Winston-Salem has played five more extra-inning games than any other team in the league this season (Myrtle Beach and Salem have played four)...Lynchburg won with a walk-off sacrifice fly improving their record in extras to 1-1, while the Dash brought their record down to 5-4...

THAT WAS CLOSE: Lynchburg has now won two one-run games in a row but still holds the worst record in one-run contests in the Carolina League this season at 5-8...No one has played less one-run games than the Hillcats (13) this season, and no one has played more than the Dash (17, tied with Wilmington)...The Dash are sub .500 as well at 8-9 in one-run games after last night's loss...

GIVE'EM SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT: The Hillcats are a league worst 6-12 at home this season, but have won their last two in a row at City Stadium...It is just the second time this year the 'Cats have won back-to-back home games (WIL, 4/26-4/27), and they still haven't won three straight in front of the home crowd...In fact, Lynchburg has won three in a row just once all season long and all three games came against Frederick (4/21-4/23) on the road...

BEST OF THE BRAVOS: Eight members of the Hillcats are ranked amongst the top 30 prospects in the Braves organization according to Baseball America...That list includes RHP Arodys Vizcaino (7), SS Andrelton Simmons (15), RHP David Hale (17), RHP Dimasther Delgado (18), OF Todd Cunningham (20), OF Adam Milligan (22), INF Joe Leonard (23) and 2B Phil Gosselin (25)...Vizcaino was tabbed the 93rd best prospect in all of baseball by BA as well...

CUNNINGHAM STILL CONTRIBUTES: After going 0-for-5 the night before, snapping a five-game hitting streak, OF Todd Cunningham was not in the starting lineup for just the second time all season last night...He still found his way into the game as a pinch runner for OF Adam Milligan in the botttom of the 11th...He would end up scoring the game winning run, for his team-leading 24th run scored of the season...He has now appeared in 41 of 42 games for the Hillcats, his only complete game off coming back on May 3 in Wilmington...He has carved himself a niche in the leadoff role and is batting .286 with seven steals and a .364 on-base percentage this season...

LYNCHBURG NEEDS YOU: The season is just past a quarter over for the Hillcats, and they have already had 37 different players active on the roster in 2011...Three original Hillcats have been promoted to AA-Mississippi, with one returning in RHP Eliecer Cardenas...Injuries have been the bigger factor, as 10 players have hit the disabled list after donning a Hillcats uniform this season...The latest was LHP Dimasther Delgado, who hit the DL yesterday...RHP David Hale will take Delgado's roster spot, returning to the Hillcats after spending nearly a month on the shelf (4/27-5/23)...C Jace Whitmer also voluntarily retired yesterday bringing the grand total for the Hillcats' transactions this season to 39 since the beginning of April...

NOBODY WINS: Both starting pitchers last night combined for 13 innings pitched, allowing just one run on eight hits and a walk, while striking out 13, but neither would factor into the decision as the game went to extras...Lynchburg's starter Arodys Vizcaino tossed seven scoreless for the second time in three starts and now has allowed just one run in his last 19 innings pitched since fully returning from a lower back strain earlier this season...The Dash's Andre Rienzo allowed one run last night through six innings...Rienzo has allowed two or less runs in eight of nine starts this season...

TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER : RHP Ryan Buch was drafted in the eighth round of the 2009 draft by the White Sox out of Monmouth University...Was 4-3 with a 3.65 ERA in Kannapolis this season before being called up...Struck out 45 batters in 44.1 innings pitched...Went a combined 7-4 with a 2.97 ERA splitting time between Bristol and Kannapolis in 2010...This is his first Carolina League appearance...

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