Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes
Published on May 23, 2012 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Hill City Howlers News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (24-18) @ MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS (21-21)
May 23rd, 2012 -- 7:05 PM
Ticketreturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark
RHP J.R. Graham (4-0, 2.50) vs RHP Cody Buckel (3-1, 1.14)
THE HILLCATS: Last night, the Hillcats beat the the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 3-2...The 'Cats were held hitless through the first five innings...A pair of hits for Lynchburg including a two-run single for SS Nick Ahmed chased Pelican starter Wilmer Font out of the game with one out in the sixth...The game was even 2-2 heading into the seventh...1B Chris Garcia broke the tie with a solo shot to left-center...LHP Dimasther Delgado went six innings allowing just two runs and earned the win...The Hillcats are now 23-18 and remain in first place in the Northern Division...
VS. MYRTLE BEACH: Lynchburg makes its first trip to the Carolina's League southern-most club this week...Ticketreturn.com Field is the last site the Hillcats have yet to play at this year...The Pelicans traveled to Lynchburg May 4-6...The Hillcats took two of three and last night won game one of the current series...Last year, the Pelicans took the season series 11-9...
EARNING SOME TRUST: The Hillcats bullpen had surrendered a run in five straight games until last night...LHP Matt Chaffee, RHP Andrew Wilson, and RHP Juan Jaime each threw a scoreless inning last night earning two holds and a save and locked up a 3-2 HIllcats win...The previous five-game stretch saw the 'Cats go 1-4 and the pen took the loss three times...Over that five-game span, the relievers threw 13.2 innings and allowed eight earned runs, good for a 5.27 ERA...
CLOSE ONE: Lynchburg won its eighth one-run game of the season last night...They are 8-3 in such games which is the best mark in the league...Myrtle Beach fell to 7-8 in single-run affairs, which is fifth-best in the circuit...
TRAVELING SOUTH: When playing south of Lynchburg this year, the 24-18 Hillcats are just 4-7...Last night was their first series opening win visiting a Southern Division Club...They lost three of four in Zebulon, NC against the Mudcats, and two of three in Salem against the Red Sox...Most recently they dropped two of three in Winston-Salem over the weekend...Traveling north has been much friendlier to the 'Cats, posting a 7-2 record...
DEL GOT HEEM: LHP Dimasther Delgado earned his second win last night allowing just two runs in six innings...He walked no one for the first time in a start this year and struck out three...His two runs were the only two given up by the Hillcats staff which has now limited opponents to two or fewer runs in five of their last seven games...Surprisingly, they are still just 3-4 in those games...They lost back-to-back 2-1 ball games May 17-18...
ROAD WARRIOR: SS Nick Ahmed went 1-for-4 yesterday with a two RBI single...He is 5-for-16 on the current road trip with three RBI and three runs scored...This coming after going just 1-for-21 playing in six of the seven games in the Hillcats last homestand...Ahmed is hitting .288 on the road this year in 19 road starts with 13 of his 18 RBI on the season...At home, he is hitting just .232 through 21 starts...Hitting 56 points higher on the road is the biggest difference in favor of the road amongst regular Hillcat starters...
GETTIN' HIS GROOVE BACK: 2B Tommy La Stella went 1-for-4 with a single in his final at-bat last night...He is now on an ten-game hitting streak since snapping an 0-for-17 slide in his final at-bat two Saturdays ago...Went hitless in three straight games (5/8-5/11)...Prior to that, he had only three games all season in which he didn't have a hit...The ten-game streak is his season-best and matches teammate SS Nick Ahmed for best streak by a Hillcat this year...He is batting .342 (13-for-38) during his streak with two home runs, a double, six RBI, and five runs scored...Has just one strikeout during the streak...He struck out twice last night...Was his first multi-strikeout game this season and now just has eight on the year...Leads the league with a 20.13 plate appearances to strikeouts ratio...
ANY WAY YOU CAN: 1B Chris Garcia went 1-for-4 with a home run last night, his fourth of the season...He has now reached base safely in 21 straight games (tied for the second-best streak in the Carolina League this season), and has a hit in 17 of those games...Hitting .373 (25-for-67) in that stretch with seven doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI, and ten runs scored...Currently ranks fourth in batting (.336) and second in on-base percentage (.450) in the league...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP Cody Buckel was selected in the second round of the 2010 draft by the Rangers out of Royal High School in California...Named a Louisville Slugger HS All-American...Won a gold medal with the 2009 USA U18 National Team...Was committed to Pepperdine University before signing with the Rangers...Only made four appearances in his rookie after signing July 27, 2010...Pitched five scoreless innings and struck out nine in the Arizona League...Moved up to Low-A Hickory in 2011...Went 8-3 with a 2.61 ERA in 23 games, 17 starts...Struck out 120 in 96.2 innings while walking just 27...Was rated the 28th-best Rangers prospect heading into 2011 and jumped to the sixth-rated prospect this season...He currently leads the Carolina League in ERA (1.14) and strikeouts (59), ranks second in WHIP ratio (0.87)...Also lead the circuit in batting average against (.153) with the next lowest mark being ..218...He is 3-1 through his first eight starts this season...Makes first starts against the Hillcats tonight...
Carolina League Stories from May 23, 2012
- Pelicans Drop Pitcher's Duel, 2-1 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Erbe Crowned Keys New Strikeout King as Keys Win 7-2 - Frederick Keys
- Keys Soak Mudcats in Rain-Shortened Game - Carolina Mudcats
- J.R. Graham Wins Pitching Battle for Hillcats - Hill City Howlers
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Hill City Howlers
- Rocks Bust out Broom against Potomac - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Bundy to Start Saturday for Keys - Frederick Keys
- Salem Sox Snag Second Straight Win from Winston - Salem RidgeYaks
- Dash Suffer First Three-Game Losing Streak - Winston-Salem Dash
- Shut out in Wilmington: Nationals Lose 3-0 - Potomac Nationals
- Blue Rocks Game Notes - Wilmington Blue Rocks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
