Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes
Published on June 29, 2014 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Hill City Howlers News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (6-3, 40-39) vs. MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS (6-3, 50-27)
Sunday, June 29, 2014 -- 6:05 PM
Calvin Falwell Field at City Stadium
RHP Jarett Miller (3-6, 4.23) vs. LHP Chad Bell (2-0, 1.69)
LAST TIME OUT: The Hillcats lost to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans last night 8-3...The HIllcats hadn't allowed a hit in 20.2 innings entering the game, but that streak ended with two outs in the first...LF Nick Williams hit an infield single and then scored on C Jorge Alfaro's two-run homer...The Hillcats answered with a solo home run from LF Jose Martinez...3B Emerson Landoni tied the score in the fourth with an RBI single...Hillcats starter, LHP Daniel Watts, hurt himself with an error in the fifth that allowed two unearned runs to score in a three-run inning for the Pelicans and the 'Cats trailed 5-2...The final Lynchburg run scored in the sixth when RF David Nick hit a solo shot...With RHP David Peterson on the mound in the eighth, the Pelicans pulled away with another three-run frame highlighted by an RBI single for SS Hanser Alberto...Peterson allowed three hits and walked two in the inning...The win went to LHP Luis Parra (6-4), who gave up two runs on three hits in five innings...Watts (0-1) suffered the loss giving up five runs, three earned, on six hits in five frames...The Hillcats fell to 6-3 in the second half and are still in first place in the Northern Division...
VS. MYRTLE BEACH: The Hillcats are 1-6 against the Pelicans this season...Myrtle Beach swept the Hillcats in three games in their first trip to City Stadium June 3-5, and the Hillcats were able to win one of three at the beach June 9-11...The Pelicans have out-scored the Hillcats 44-14 in the season series, and out-scored the 'Cats 30-7 in Lynchburg...2B Jose Peraza (.417) and CF Kyle Wren (.450) are the only two Hillcats to bat higher than .222 against the Pelicans this season who boast the best ERA in the circuit at 3.26 and have allowed the fewest hits (576)...The rest of the team is batting just .158 (26-for-165) against the Pelicans this season...Peraza and Wren have now both been promoted to Double-A, Peraza at the All-Star Break and Wren yesterday...
GUESS WHAT DAY IT WAS...: RHP Nate Hyatt was nearly perfect Wednesday night retiring eight straight after his first batter, INF Michael Antonio, doubled for the Wilmington Blue Rocks...The no-hit streak continued until there were two outs in the first inning Saturday...LF Nick Williams ended the streak at 21.1 innings...
DOUBLE NO-NO, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!?: The Hillcats carved their names into the history books Friday night as they became the 11th minor league team to pitch back-to-back no-hitters (UPDATED: it was previously reported that it was the 9th time)...Friday night RHP Cody Scarpetta retired the first 17 batters he faced before walking one to end the perfect game...He would allow just one other baserunner, a hit batter in the seventh, before completing seven no-hit innings...RHP Benino Pruneda finished the no-no walking one and striking out two in the eighth and ninth including the fanning the final batter of the game...The last time a team has thrown two no-hitters in a row was in August 5-6, 1972 when Quebec did it against Pawtucket in the Eastern League...The last time a Carolina League team accomplished the feat was may 15, 1966 when Rocky Mount no-hit Greensboro in both ends of a doubleheader...Thursday night, RHP Lucas Sims combined with RHP Alex Wilson to no-hit the Blue Rocks...It was the first no-hitter for the Hillcats since RHP Aaron Northcraft held the Salem Red Sox hitless over seven innings in game two of a doubleheader on June 22, 2012...
LOOKING AT IT INDIVIDUALLY: RHP Lucas Sims held an 8.80 ERA in his previous four June starts before the no-hitter...He struck out a season-high six and walked a season-high four...It was the eighth appearance for RHP Alex Wilson in which he hasn't allowed a hit this season in 21 games...He has only allowed runs in five of those 21 outings...RHP Cody Scarpetta and RHP Benino Pruneda have both undergone Tommy John surgery...Scarpetta missed all of 2012 and was released by the Brewers following his 2013 season...The Braves signed him out of the independent Atlantic League this season...Pruneda missed all of 2012 and 2013...He made his first appearance back from the surgery on May 1 this season against the Salem Red Sox...It was just his fourth hitless appearance of 14 outings this season and second since May 4...And let's not leave out C Tyler Tewell, who was behind the plate for every out...He had never been a part of any other no-hitter in his baseball career...
AHRENS' TURNAROUND JUNE: 3B Kevin Ahrens "quietly" went 4-for-4 during the second no-hitter Friday, and went 2-for-4 last night continuing his current hitting streak to four games...He set a season-high and matched a career-high with three doubles Friday, and cracked his 22nd double of the season last night, which is now tied with OF Will Skinner for the most in the league...He now has 10 hits in his last four games, lifting his average from .258 to .279, and he is batting .378 (28-for-74) in June after hitting .241 through April and May...
BROTHERLY BOMBS: OF Jose Martinez went 1-for-4 last night with a home run, his first as a Hillcat...His younger brother INF Teodoro "Cafe" Martinez also hit a home run for Double-A Frisco in the Rangers organization last night...Jose is now on a seven-game hitting streak, batting .429 (12-for-28) in seven games with the Hillcats with five RBIs and six runs scored...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: LHP Chad Bell was selected in teh 14th round of the 2009 draft by the Texas Rangers out of Walters Start Community College (TN)...There he was teammates with Hillcats OF Will Skinner...The Knoxville, TN native made his professional debut with Low-A Hickory in 2010, but eventually spent time with Short-season Spokane...Promoted to Hi-A Myrtle Beach in 2012, he went 3-2 with a 2.98 ERA in 32 appearances, nine starts...He returned to the Pelicans in 2013 but only for four relief outings (1-0, 1.59) before getting promoted to Double-A Frisco (2-2, 2.84), and then he made his made his final 14 starts with Triple-A Round Rock (5-5, 4.15)...Most likely would've seen time in the majors last year if not for a torn UCL, which led to Tommy John surgery...He returned to Round Rock this year on May 13, but was crushed for five runs on six hits in one-third of an inning...He was then sent to Hickory (2-0, 4.10), and has now made it back to Myrtle Beach...Tonight will be his third start for the Pelicans and first against the Hillcats this season...Only allowed two runs over 10 innings in his first two starts...
Carolina League Stories from June 29, 2014
- Epic Pitcher's Duel Leads to Seven Runs of P-Nats Magic in 8th - Potomac Nationals
- Myrtle Finally Upended in Lynchburg - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Hillcats Down Myrtle Beach, 10-7 - Hill City Howlers
- Bullpen Falters in 7-1 Loss to Potomac - Frederick Keys
- Offense Quiet Again as Blue Rocks Lose 4-2 in Salem - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Big Second Inning Leads to Dash Demise - Winston-Salem Dash
- Mudcats Claim Thriller in the Triad - Carolina Mudcats
- Light Outduels Binford for Sox Win - Salem RidgeYaks
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Hill City Howlers
- Pelicans Game Notes: 6:05 at Lynchburg - June 29, 2014 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Mudcats Game Notes - Carolina Mudcats
- Wilmington Blue Rocks Game Notes - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (June 29 vs. Carolina) - Winston-Salem Dash
- Salem Red Sox Game Notes - Salem RidgeYaks
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