Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes
June 1, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (22-28) @ SALEM RED SOX (25-25)
June 1st, 2011 -- 7:05 PM
LewisGale Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark
RHP Dan Jurik (0-0, 2.08) vs. RHP Junichi Tazawa (0-1, 14.73)
THE HILLCATS: Tuesday, the Hillcats finally got over the hump and defeated the Salem Red Sox for the first time all season...It wasn't easy, as Lynchburg erased three separate deficits (2-0, 6-2, 10-6) to ultimately win 12-10...OF Geraldo Rodriguez delivered the game-winning drive with a grand slam in the top of the eighth that put the 'Cats on top 12-10...The Hillcats sit in third place in the Carolina League Northern Division, now 6.5 games back of the first place Frederick Keys...
VS. SALEM: The Hillcats are 1-7 against the Red Sox this season...The two teams have met six times in Salem and twice in Lynchburg...Last season, the Red Sox took the season series 11-8 over Lynchburg...Myrtle Beach (2010 Braves Advanced-A affiliate) fared worse against Salem, winning just five of the 20 match-ups...
SLUGFESTS IN SALEM: Last night, the Hillcats and Red Sox duked it out in an offensive heavyweight affair...Salem led three times and the Hillcats tied it up twice before finally taking their first lead in the top of the eighth inning with a six-run rally capped by a grand slam...Each team only scored in three innings but managed to put up a combined 22 runs (12-10), which set a season-high for runs scored in a Hillcats game this year, surpassing the 21-run mark originally set in Salem on April 18 (Salem won 16-5) and matched in Lynchburg against Potomac May 21 (Potomac won 13-8)...Lynchburg erased two separate four-run Salem leads Tuesday...The 'Cats' previous largest comeback win this season was just two runs (4/9 @ POT, 5/24 vs W-S, 5/29 @ POT)...
THE 'CATS CAN BAT: As a team the Hillcats went 13-for-38 (.342) Tuesday afternoon...The offensive showcase raised Lynchburg's already league leading average to .266, nine points higher than the next best clip (Myrtle Beach, .257)...The 'Cats are third in home runs (38), second in doubles (103), tied for first in triples (16), and leading the league in slugging percentage at .414...They also boast the fewest strikeouts (329)....
LET'S PLAY TWO: Lynchburg swept two double-headers from the Potomac Nationals over the weekend at Pfitzer Stadium...The Hillcats lead nearly the entire weekend, trailing only 1-0 after the bottom of the first in game two Saturday, and 2-0 after the bottom of the first in game two Sunday, but Lynchburg erased both deficits the very next frame in both contests...Lynchburg is now 6-0 in three double-headers this season...The 'Cats swept their first double-header this season in Frederick on April 23 (3-0, 2-1)...
DUST OFF THE BROOM STICKS: The Hillcats completed their first sweep of the season taking four games for the Nationals Saturday and Sunday...The 'Cats had failed in three prior sweep chances...Most recently, the 'Cats lost to the Winston-Salem Dash last Wednesday in game three of the series...It was the third chance for Lynchburg to complete a sweep this season, and first attempt at home...The first opportunity was a possible four-game sweep in Frederick April 21-24 but the 'Cats fell short 2-1 in the finale...The next opportunity came on the road again, in Wilmington May 2-4, but the Blue Rocks took game three 7-3 over Lynchburg...The loss in the finale brings the Hillcats record to 2-11 in the final game of a series this season...
BEST OF THE BRAVOS: Seven members of the Hillcats are ranked amongst the top 30 prospects in the Braves organization according to Baseball America...That list includes 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)...
WHAT A TRIP: INF Joey Terdoslavich has 14 multi-hit games this season, and five have come in the last six games of the Hillcats' current road trip...After going 2-for-4 yesterday with an RBI, a run scored, and his 15th double of the year (fourth in C.L.), he is 11-for-22 over the last six games on the road with a home run and six runs driven in...Hitting safely in nine of his last 10, he has raised his batting average from .246 to .279, which is the highest it's been all season...He's now hitting .304 (31-for-102) in May after hitting .243 (17-for-70) in April...
BACK WITH A VENGEANCE: OF Adam Milligan was hitting just .224 (19-for-85) before hitting the disabled list with a pulled hamstring, which he injured on May 7...Since returning to action May 18, he's hitting .360 (18-for-50)...He has a hit in 11 of 14 games since coming back, with six multi-hit games...Has driven in 13 runs, scored nine, and hit two home runs in those 14 contests...Those 13 RBI more than doubled his season total, as he had driven in just 10 in his first 23 games of the season...He now has seven long balls on the year, the second-most on the team behind Joey Terdoslavich (11)...His batting average has risen by .50 points to .274 (37-for-135)...Had his first two-walk game Monday, he's drawn seven free passes since coming back, after having just two before the injury...His on-base percentage has gone from .247 to .331...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER : RHP Junichi Tazawa was signed by Boston 12/3/08 after four seasons with the Nippon Oil ENEOS of the Japan Industrial League...Made his Major League debut 8/7/09 against the Yankees, took the loss after allowing a walk-off home run to Alex Rodriguez...Won his first Major League start 8/11 against Detroit...Went 2-3 with a 7.46 ERA in four starts and two relief appearances for the Red Sox...Began the 2009 season with AA Portland and was named to the Eastern League All-Star Team...Missed the entire 2010 year due to Tommy John surgery...Currently 0-1 with a 14.73 ERA...
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Carolina League Stories from June 1, 2011
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