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CarL1 Lynchburg Hillcats

Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes

June 25, 2012 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS (36-34, 3-1) vs LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (39-31, 3-1)

June 25th, 2012 -- 7:05 PM

Calvin Falwell Field at Lynchburg City Stadium

RHP Luke Jackson (0-0, -) vs RHP J.R. Graham (8-1, 2.53)

THE HILLCATS: Last night, the Hillcats lost to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 5-1, snapping a season-best seven-game winning streak...The Pelicans scored a single inning season-high four run in the first and held on from there...Lynchburg scored their one and only run in the second inning with the help on an error, and the Pelicans added another run in the third with a pair of doubles...Neither team scored past the third inning...RHP Gus Schlosser went on to complete six innings despite the rough start, allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits, and took the loss...RHP Randol Rojas went seven innings for Myrtle Beach giving up just one unearned run on four hits and improved to 6-0...The Hillcats are now 3-1 in the second half, tied with the Potomac Nationals for first place in the Northern Division...

VS. MYRTLE BEACH: Lynchburg is 6-5 against the Pelicans this season...They have won or split each series against Myrtle Beach...This is the Birds second trip to the 'Hill City' this year...Lynchburg won two of three last time...Pitching has dominated the season series as the losing club has been limited to three runs or less in nine of the eleven match-ups...Last year, the Hillcats lost the season-series 9-11...Two years removed from the Braves affiliation with Myrtle Beach (now with Lynchburg since 2011), the Hillcats still have three former Pelicans on their roster...C Braeden Schlehuber, OF Adam Milligan, and OF Mycal Jones...

LEAGUE'S BEST STAFF: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans boast a Carolina League best 2.92 ERA as a unit this year...They lowered it from 2.96 last night by not allowing an earned run in nine innings of work last night...The Hillcats own the next best mark at 3.54...The Pelicans have blanked opponents nine times this year which is tied with the Frederick Keys for the most in the circuit...They lead the league in strikeouts (593) as well, and have allowed the fewest home runs (36)...

PROSPECTS BEWARE: The Hillcats have seen great success against some of the top rated pitching prospects in the baseball this season...They are responsible for the worst starts of 2011 first round picks Dylan Bundy (Frederick) and Matt Barnes (Salem) in their young careers...Bundy gave up four earned runs in just three and two-thirds innings against the Hillcats last time he faced them June 14...He had never allowed more than two runs in a start other wise, and the shortened outing was the only time he hadn't gone five innings since he was allowed to by his organization...Barnes suffered his career-worst start Saturday night, at the hands of the 'Cats...Completed a career-low three and two-thirds innings and gave up a career-high five earned runs...His previous worst start was when he gave up three runs in four innings on May 30, also against Lynchburg...Other notable triumphs include the Hillcats beating Rangers sixth-best prospect Cody Buckel twice...Buckel leads the Carolina league with a 1.31 ERA and has been called up to Double-A Frisco to start the second half, and the 'Cats gave Salem's closer Michael Olmsted his first blown save three nights ago...Olmsted was 14 of 14 in save chances with a 1.44 ERA...

HISTORY HAS A WAY: The Pelicans roughed up Hillcats starter RHP Gus Schlosser for the third time this season last night...Schlosser gave up five runs, four earned, in six innings, and took his fourth loss of the season, second at the hands of the Pelicans...Schlosser has now surrendered 16 runs, 15 earned, in 16.2 innings against Myrtle Beach...The same offense that is hitting .238 (second-worst in the league) is batting .300 (21-for-70) against Schlosser...The Hillcats will look for a different pattern to continue tonight in RHP J.R. Graham dominance over the Birds...In three starts, Graham is 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA...He has allowed a single run in each start while completing at least seven innings each time...

JUNE BUG: SS Nick Ahmed began the month of June 0-for 12 in his first four games...Since snapping the slide, he has hit his way on safely in 15 of 18 games...He is 23-for-69 (.333)...Has eight doubles, two triples, three home runs, 12 runs, and eleven RBI in his last 18 games...His average was down to .248 (lowest since 4/10, .200)...Has raised it 21 points to .269 during the 18-game stretch...

NO-NO NORTHCRAFT: RHP Aaron Northcraft threw his first professional no-hitter Friday night in his 55th career start...It was his first shutout and just his second complete game of his career...His first CG was another seven-inning contest of June 9 this season...Friday night he threw seven frames again, walking two and hitting one on his way to history...Secondary to the no-no, Northcraft won his seventh game of the season...He became just the third man in the league to win seven...The other two share a clubhouse with him, RHP Gus Schlosser (8) and RHP J.R. Graham (8)...Now, there are four seven game winners after RHP Cody Martin won his seventh for Lynchburg in relief last night...

I CAN BE, CENTER FIELD: OF Mycal Jones went 1-for-4 last night extending his current hit streak to six games...His longest streak since hitting in nine straight from August 17-25 in 2011 with Double-A Mississippi...He is batting .381 (8-for-21) during the streak with three doubles, two RBI, and two runs scored...One of the two runs was the walk-off winner in Friday night's 4-3 extra inning win over the Salem Red Sox...He scored on Matt Weaver's squeeze bunt in the bottom of the eleventh...Jones has taken over center field duties yet again the past two nights with OF Matt Lipka out...Jones is hitting .278 when playing center field this season as opposed to just .207 when playing left field...The six-game streak has raised his batting average 17 points, from .231 to .248 heading into tonight...

TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP Luke Jackson was selected in the first round (45th overall) by the Texas Rangers in 2010 out of Calvary Christian High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida...The Southwest Ranches, FL native signed just before the deadline for a reported $1.545 million bonus...ESPN rated him as the 87th best prospect on the draft board going into the 2010 draft...He went 8-0 with a 0.90 ERA and 87 strikeouts as a high school senior...He added two home runs and 21 RBI as a hitter...Did not pitched until ninth grade...Made his professional debut in 2011 with Low A Hickory at just 19 years-old...Went 5-6 with a 5.64 ERA in 19 starts for the Crawdads...Struck out 78 in 75 innings, but also walked 48...Started 2012 with Hickory again...Went 5-5 with a 4.92 ERA in 13 starts...Struck out 72 in 64 innings, but walks were an issue again with 33...Promoted to Myrtle Beach after the All-Star Break when RHP Cody Buckel, the Carolina League ERA leader, was promoted to Double-A Frisco...He makes his Advanced-A debut tonight at just 20 years-old...

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