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CarL1 Lynchburg Hillcats

Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes

August 31, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


POTOMAC NATIONALS (35-28, 64-68) vs LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (28-34, 58-74)

August 31st, 2011 -- 7:05 PM

Calvin Falwell Field at Lynchburg City Stadium

RHP Adam Olbrychowski (4-7, 4.26) vs. RHP David Hale (3-6, 4.30)

THE HILLCATS: Tuesday, the 'Cats lost to the Potomac Nationals 5-4 in extra innings...A benches clearing altercation in the fifth inning seem to steal the spotlight from what turned out to be a great game last night...The largest lead was 4-2 in favor of Potomac in the fifth and that was cut to 4-3 a half inning later...C Ryan Query singled in the tying run in the seventh and the game eventually went to the 10th knotted up at 4-4...The Nationals went ahead for good in the 10th with a two-out RBI single from SS Zach Walters...The Hillcats are now 28-34 in the second half...They sit in third place in the Northern Division 9.0 games behind the Frederick Keys in first place...

VS. POTOMAC: The Hillcats are 9-8 against the Nationals this season...This is the final series between the two teams this year...The road team is12-5 on the season series...The home team has not won a series between the clubs in 2011...Last year, Potomac took the season series 11-8 from Lynchburg...The former Braves Advanced-A affiliate, Myrtle Beach Pelicans, fared even worse dropping 14 of 20 to the Nationals a season ago...

TEMPERS FLARING: The benches and bullpens emptied last night after Hillcats' LHP Chris Masters hit Potomac's Steven Souza with a pitch int he fifth inning...One inning prior, Souza had crashed into C Christian Bethancourt at home plate while trying to score...The blow forced Bethancourt to leave the game...No punches would be thrown in the altercation, but three players would get ejected, surprisingly only from one side...Masters, along with Eliecer Cardenas and Ryan Buchter, who both came in from the bullpen were ejected while for Lynchburg, while no Potomac players left the game...Souza batted twice more later in the night, and was pitched to as any other player would be, so it seems the conflict has passed for the moment...

NO ROOM FOR ERR: With the loss last night the Hillcats have lost out on a chance to clinch a playoff spot in the regular season, but they are not eliminated just yet...One more Hillcats loss or Potomac win will officially knock our Lynchburg...Should the 'Cats win out in the final six games, and the Nationals lose out in their last seven, then a one-game playoff would be played next Tuesday to see who advances to the Divisional Series against the first half champion Frederick Keys...

WHAT TIMING!: Down 2-1 Monday night in the bottom of the seventh inning, INF Barrett Kleinknecht and OF Geraldo Rodriguez did something that hadn't been done by the Hillcats all season long, hit back-to-back home runs...The two solo blasts gave the 'Cats their ultimate lead in the game as they went on to win 3-2...Lynchburg has homered twice in an inning now five times...

BEST OF THE BRAVOS: Eight members of the Hillcats are ranked amongst the top 30 prospects in the Atlanta Braves organization according to Baseball America...That list includes C Christian Bethancourt (12), 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)...

THREE'S COMPANY: The Hillcats received C Ryan Query from Low-A Rome August 17 when C Christian Bethancourt was day-to-day after being struck by a wild pitch near his collar bone...They have held on to three catchers ever since and last night it came in handy...Bethancourt left the game after being run over at home plate in the fourth...C Shawn McGill entered the game and an inning later took a back swing to side of his face an d left the game in need of stitches...Query was then called into catch...It was the first time that three different players had played a single position in the same game for the Hillcats...

HISTORY BOOKS STILL WAITING: INF Joey Terdoslavich went 1-5 last night with single of the wall in left field...Terdoslavich slowed a bit around first thinking the ball was off the scoreboard but it was ruled in play off the top of the wall and Terdoslavich wound up being thrown out at second base...Had he been safe it would have been his 51st double of the season, which would matched the All-Time Carolina League single season record set by Woody Fair with Durham back in 1946...His last double came Thursday in Myrtle Beach...

G-'HOT'ROD: OF Geraldo Rodriguez went 0-for-3 last night with two walks...Over his last 15 games he is hitting 294 (15-for-51) with eight extra base hits, five doubles and three home runs...He has hit safely in 12 of those 15 games...Last night he snapped an eight-game hitting streak, which included a game he entered late two Thursday's ago and went 1-for-1 in his only plate appearance...

TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP Adam Olbrychowski was selected in the fifth round of the 2007 draft by the Yankees out of Pepperdine...Began his career as a starter, but was converted to a reliever going into the 2009 season...Made it as high as Double-A with the Yankees...Traded to the Nationals for outfielder Justin Maxwell in February, 2011...Has made 29 appearances for Potomac this season: 16 relief appearances and 13 starts...Pitched twice against the Hillcats in relief, and made one start...On April 9, pitched one and two-thirds innings, giving up one hit and three runs...On May 28, pitched three and on-third shutout innings, giving up just one hit...Made his fifth start of the season July 9...Gave up seven runs, five earned, on 11 hits in four and two-thirds innings pitched in loss...Earned win after pitching five and one-third scoreless innings against the Hillcats on July 19...Currently 4-7 with a 4.26 ERA and one save...

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