Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes
Published on April 18, 2014 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (8-6) vs. POTOMAC NATIONALS (8-6)
April 18th, 2014 -- 6:05 PM
Calvin Falwell Field at Lynchburg City Stadium
RHP Andrew Waszak (0-0, 8.59) vs. LHP Nick Lee (0-2, 20.25)
LAST TIME OUT: Last night the Hillcats lost the Wilmington Blue Rocks 4-2...The Hillcats went up 1-0 in the first inning...3B Kevin Ahrens singled to the shortstop, and CF Kyle Wren scored from second base...Wilmington rallied back with three runs in the third inning...Hillcats starter Jarett Miller was perfect through the first two innings but surrendered three hits and walked a batter in the third...After that, Miller allowed just one more hit and no runs through 6.2 innings...The Blue Rocks didn't add another run until the eighth inning with RHP Patrick Scoggin on the mound. A two-out error on 2B Jose Peraza allowed OF Bubba Starling to score from third base...The final Hillcats run also scored in the eighth...Ahrens once again drove in Wren, this time with a sacrifice fly...The Hillcats are now 8-6 and tied with the Potomac Nationals for first place in the Northern Division...
VS. POTOMAC: The Hillcats are 2-1 against the Nationals this year...They beat the P-Nats twice last week in Woodbridge but lost the finale, failing to complete a sweep...Starting pitching had a tough time in that first series...Of the 39 runs scored between the two clubs in three games, 26 of those runs scored in the first three innings, and 29 scored off the starters...The Hillcats outscored Potomac 24-15, notching their largest win of the season 9-1 in the middle game of the series...
CHECK OUT THE P-NATS: Two weeks into the season, the Potomac Nationals rank last in the Carolina League in ERA (4.98) and second to last in batting average (.214)...Yet, the P-Nats are 8-6 and tied for first place in the Northern Division...Overall they have been outscored by opponents 75-62 this season...In their last three losses they've been outscored 30-5, which include a 9-1 loss to the Hillcats last week...Meanwhile, six of their eight wins have been by two runs or less...They've been good at protecting leads as they are 6-0 when scoring first this season...
THE MARK OF THE BEAST: The Hillcats have a disturbing trend going on through 14 games this season...They are getting outscored 20-4 in the sixth inning...All nine runs the Blue Rocks scored over the course of Wednesday's doubleheader were scored in the sixth innings (seven in game one, two in game two)...The 20 runs surrendered on the season during this particular frame is at least double that of any other inning...The next worse is 10 runs allowed in fifth innings...Meanwhile, the four runs scored in sixth frames is just one higher than the lowest scoring innings, three in fifth and ninth innings...
EXTRA EXTRA: Monday's 12-inning contest between the Hillcats and Keys is the longest game, innings-wise, played in the Carolina League this season...Only two games have gone to extra innings in the circuit, and both have been played by the Hillcats and Keys...The Hillcats recorded a walk-off win in the bottom of the 10th inning Friday night of opening weekend against the Keys, and won Monday as well making them 2-0 in extra inning games this season...
DRESSED TO THE NINES: 1B Edison Sanchez has been looking good at the plate this season...He's just snapped a nine game hitting streak last night (0-for-3, BB), in which he barred .378 (14-for-37) with a home run, five RBIs, and seven runs scored...On the season he's leading the team with a .321 average, which ranks eighth in the Carolina League...Sanchez is playing in his first season at the Advanced-A level...Last year he played in 70 games with Low-A Rome, missing over a month with a broken ankle due to a foul ball he hit off himself last April...
GREEN LIGHT: OF Kyle Wren stole four bases last night, setting a new career-high...The 2013 eighth round pick stole 35 bases in 53 games last year....He now has nine in 14 games this season, which is pacing the Carolina League...Right behind him is his teammate INF Jose Peraza...Peraza was caught for the second time last night, but also stole two bases himself...He is second in the league with eight swipes...Together they rank second in all of Minor League Baseball in stolen bases among two teammates...The only duo with more are playing for Great Lakes Loons in the Midwest League, OFs Malcolm Holland and Jacob Scavuzzo...
ROSS ON STARTING: RHP Greg Ross made his first start of the season Wednesday night and won turning in this final line, 6ip, 2 h, 0r, 0bb, 6k, 2hbp...The only two hits were bunt singles...He was most impressive perhaps when those bunt singles and a hit batter loaded the bases with one out in the third...Ross used seven straight sliders to strikeout OF Bubba Starling and INF Hunter Dozier both former first round picks of the Royals and are currently rated eighth and seventh respectively on the system's Baseball America prospect rankings...Ross' ERA is now 2.08, ninth-best in the Carolina League...Ross pitched in relief and as a starter last year...He was dominant in the bullpen, allowing just three runs in 28.1 innings of relief between Rome and Lynchburg, and very good as a starter going 6-3 with a 3.54 ERA in 19 Lynchburg starts...
AHRENS CLEANING UP: 3B Kevin Ahrens went 1-for-3 last night with two RBIs...He now leads the Hillcats with nine RBIs this season, and is tied for the fourth most in the Carolina League...Ahrens has batted fourth in every game he's played for the Hillcats this season, which has been all but one...He's currently on a four-game hitting streak (4-for-12) and he has driving in four runs during the stretch...On the season he's batting .244 with a home run...The former Blue Jays first round pick (2007) matched a career-high with four RBIs in his first game against tonight's opponent, the Potomac Nationals last week...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: LHP Nick Lee was selected in the 18th round in 2011 by the Washington Nationals out of Weatherford (TX) Junior College...He was ready to transfer to the University of Oklahoma before deciding to sign with the Nationals...The San Antonio,TX native is playing in his fourth professional season...This is first season at the Advanced-A level, moving up from the Gulf Coast League to short-season, and then to Low-A the last three years...After making 10 relief appearances in 2011 in the GCL, 28 of his last 33 appearances have been starts...He made a relief appearance Friday night as a tune up for his first start of the year...His relief outing was a perfect six up, six down two innings with five strikeouts...He has made two starts since and allowed 12 earned runs over 3.1 innings...He is yet to make it out of the second inning this season...
Carolina League Stories from April 18, 2014
- Mudcats Command Woes Hand Keys Extra-Inning Win - Frederick Keys
- Ahrens' Walk-Off Home Run Overshadows P-Nats' Rally Effort - Potomac Nationals
- Ahrens' 12th-Inning Homer Gives Hillcats 7-6 Victory - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Salem Flirts with Perfection in Win over Dash - Winston-Salem Dash
- Mudcats Falter in Extras - Carolina Mudcats
- Pelicans / Blue Rocks Postponed - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Blue Rocks and Pelicans Rained out Friday - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Frederick Keys Game Notes - Frederick Keys
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (April 18 vs. Salem) - Winston-Salem Dash
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Will Lamb Added; Cody Buckel Placed on DL - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Blue Rocks Game Notes - April 18, 2014 - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Pelicans Team up with HTC and Backpack Buddies - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Hillcats to Host 6th Annual Autism Awareness Night Saturday, April 19 - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Salem Red Sox Game Notes - Salem Red Sox
- Mondesi, Dziedzic Stay Hot As Rocks Win Rubber Match In Lynchburg - Wilmington Blue Rocks
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