Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes
June 23, 2014 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (2-1, 36-37) vs. WINSTON-SALEM DASH (2-2, 32-41)
Monday, June 23, 2014 -- 7:05 PM
Calvin Falwell Field at City Stadium
RHP Jarett Miller (3-6, 4.46) vs. RHP J.B. Wendelken (5-6, 3.76)
LAST TIME OUT: The Hillcats beat the Winston-Salem Dash 8-3 last night thanks to a five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh...The Dash held the initial lead scoring two unearned runs in the first...RHP Cody Scarpetta surrendered a double to SS Tim Anderson and a bunt single to CF Jacob May to put runners at first and third with nobody out...A passed ball allowed Anderson to score, while May stole second...May then stole third as well and scored on an errant throw into left field, and both runs went unearned against Scarpetta...RF Will Skinner put the Hillcats on the board with a solo homer in the second and then put them on top with an RBI double in the third....Lynchburg led 3-2 until the seventh when the Dash tied the game...1B Keon Barnum scored as C Omar Narvaez grounded into a double play...That was the only earned run allowed by Scarpetta (1-1) in seven innings...He would earn the win as the 'Cats rattled off six consecutive hits to begin the bottom of the seventh and scored five runs in the process...The Hillcats improved to 2-1 and remain tied for first place with the Potomac Nationals in the Northern Division in the second half...
VS. WINSTON-SALEM: The Hillcats are 6-3 against the Dash this season...They won three of four in Lynchburg May 23-26 and split four games in Winston-Salem May 30-June 2...Three of the nine games have been decided by one run, with the Hillcats winning two of those three games...OF Jason Coats is batting just .200 (7-for-35) against the Hillcats, but he has four home runs, a double, and 10 RBIs in nine games...OF Kyle Wren is the standout performer for the Hillcats batting .333 (12-for-36) with two doubles, two triples, five RBIs, six runs scored, and seven stolen bases in seven attempts...
WILLCOME BACK: OF Will Skinner returned to the lineup Saturday for the first time since June 7 and went 2-for-4 with a double...He followed that with a 3-for-4 effort last night with a home run, two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored...He's currently on a five-game hitting streak batting .450 (9-for-20) in this stretch...He hit the DL due to a collision with the wall at home on June 7...He leaped for a ball on the warning track and ended up slamming his right hand against the wall...He now has 21 doubles this season, which is tied for the most in the Carolina League...
HITS FOR SIX: The Hillcats strung together six consecutive hits in the seventh inning last night scoring five runs and breaking a 3-3 tie in the process in their 8-3 win over the Dash...SS Daniel Castro started the rally with a single, and then LF Jose Martinez, 2B Eric Garcia, DH Emerson Landoni, and RF Will Skinner all followed with RBI doubles...3B Levi Hyams capped the streak with an RBI single...It was the longest stretch of consecutive hits for the 'Cats this season...The previous high was four, which had been done seven times, most recently June 14 at the Salem...The longest stretch of consecutive batters to reach base is seven, which the Hillcats accomplished May 8 at Wilmington (HBP, 1B, BB, IBB, BB, 3B, HBP)...
LANDONI RETURNS: INF Emerson Landoni went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs, and a run scored last night, and is now 8-for-12 in three games since returning the Hillcats...He was transferred back to Lynchburg from Double-A Mississippi Thursday...Had been batting .271 with a home run and 12 RBIs in 59 games...The Braves originally signed Landoni December 20, 2011 and he has spent the last three seasons playing between Lynchburg and Mississippi...In 132 games with the Hillcats from 2012-2013, he hit .249 with five home runs and 39 RBIs...Meanwhile, he has batted .280 (65-for-232) in 79 Double-A games...
JUST NEEDED A LITTLE R&R: The Hillcats batted a league-best .274 in May and went 20-11, but followed that by batting .265 in the first 15 games of June...They went 5-10 before the All-Star Break in June...In three games since the break, the 'Cats are batting .349 (38-for-109) and are 2-1...They have scored 20 runs in three games, and have hit 11 doubles and two home runs...
MORE OUTSIDE HELP: OF Jose Martinez went 3-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base in his Hillcats debut last night...He was signed as a minor league free agent and assigned to the Hillcats Sunday...He is the fourth player this season, the Braves have signed and immediately assigned to Lynchburg, and he is the ninth player to play with the Hillcats this season that had been signed as a minor league free agent within the last two years by the Braves...Martinez is not brand new to the organization though...He played with Double-A Mississippi in 2013 and was a Southern League All-Star...He hit .285 with six home runs, and 39 RBIs in 123 games last season but was released in the offseason...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP J.B. Wendelken was acquired via trade with the Boston Red Sox in 2013 in the deal that sent Major League RHP Jake Peavy to Boston...Wendelken was originally drafted and signed by the Red Sox in the 13th round of the 2012 draft out of Middle Georgia College...Named the 2012 Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year and Second-Team All-American after going 6-0 with with nine saves and a 0.20 ERA in 21 relief appearances (44.1 innings)...Made his professional debut in the Gulf Coast League in 2012 (0-2, 1.27 ERA)...Moved up to Low-A Greenville in 2013...Went 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in 27 appearances with 10 saves before getting traded to the White Sox and assigned to Low-A Kannapolis...He went 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA in three relief appearances with the Intimidators before a promotion to the Dash and went 0-1 with a 4.82 ERA over six appearances in the Carolina League...Converted to starter for the first time in his professional career this season...He is 5-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 14 starts...He has thrown at least five innings in all but one start...He lasted just 2.2 innings on June 4 at Carolina, but six of the eight runs he allowed were unearned...In two starts against the Hillcats he is 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA...He has struck out 14 and walked two in 12 innings...
Carolina League Stories from June 23, 2014
- Bostick's Tenth Inning Single Pushes Birds past Mudcats - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Odom's Career Night Ends with Walk-Off RBI - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Blue Rocks Flex Muscle in 9-3 Rout of Keys - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Odom, Hillcats Notch Walk-Off Win over Dash - Winston-Salem Dash
- Evans and Gallagher Power Wilmington to Series Win - Frederick Keys
- Missed Opportunities Haunt Mudcats in Loss - Carolina Mudcats
- Ramos and Harper Shine in Rehab Appearances, Nats Win 5-2 - Potomac Nationals
- MLB Rehabers Help P-Nats to Win - Salem Red Sox
- Pelicans Game Notes: 7:00 at Carolina - June 23, 2014 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Salem Red Sox Game Notes - Salem Red Sox
- Mudcats Game Notes - Carolina Mudcats
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Wilmington Blue Rocks Game Notes: June 23, 2014 - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (June 23 at Lynchburg) - Winston-Salem Dash
- Merritt Named Carolina League Pitcher of the Week - Carolina Mudcats
- Starling Named Carolina League Player of the Week - Wilmington Blue Rocks
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