Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes
Published on August 12, 2014 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (26-23, 60-59) vs. WINSTON-SALEM DASH (24-26, 54-65)
Tuesday, August 12, 2014 -- 7:00 PM
BB&T Ballpark
LHP Blair Walters (3-0, 2.74) vs. RHP James Dykstra (2-1, 4.80)
LAST TIME OUT: The Hillcats were off along with the rest of the Carolina League yesterday...Sunday, they beat the Winston-Salem Dash 2-1 and completed a three-game sweep at home...C Joe Odom delivered the game-winning hit with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning...RHP Jarett Miller started for the Hillcats...He gave up just one run on five hits while walked two and striking out six or six innings...The lone Dash run scored in the fourth...RF Jason Coats drove in SS Cleuluis Rondon with a single...The Hillcats tied the score in the sixth...LF Daniel Carroll and 3B Kevin Ahrens singled on both ends of an 2B Eric Garcia walk...1B Justin Bloxom then hit into a 6-4-3 double play as Carroll scored...RHP Mauricio Cabrera tossed the seventh and eighth perfect for Lynchburg and LHP Brady Feiglcomplete the ninth 1-2-3...With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, C Tyler Tewell doubled, SS Emerson Landoni was hit by a pitch, and then Odom ended the game...The Hillcats improved to 26-23 in the second half sitting in second half in the Northern Division, 2.5 games behind the Potomac Nationals...
VS. WINSTON-SALEM: The Hillcats are 10-7 against the Dash this season...After getting swept in Winston-Salem two weekends ago, the Hillcats just completed a sweep of the Dash this past weekend...This is now the third series in the first two weeks of August between these teams...The 'Cats went 8-2 against the Dash at City Stadium, but are just 2-5 at BB&T Ballpark...Eleven of the 15 meetings between these two clubs have been decided by two runs or less...Lynchburg is 7-4 in those games...C Joe Odom has been especially successful against the Dash this season...As opposed to his .235 season clip, he's batting .357 (10-for-28) with two doubles, three home runs, 10 RBIs and five runs scored in eight games vs Winston-Salem...
CLEANING HOUSE: The Hillcats completed their fourth sweep of the season Sunday and second at home...They also swept the Keys at home May 27-29, the Blue Rocks in Wilmington June 25-27, and the Keys in Frederick July 25-27....The 'Cats only outscored the Dash 10-5 in the three, the lowest run differential of the sweeps this season...In each of the other three, the Hillcats scored at least 20 runs in the three games...Winston-Salem is the only Southern Division team to be swept by the Hillcats...They're also the only Southern Division team that has a losing record against the Hillcats...
HOW YOU FINISH: The Dash scored first in all three games over the weekend...By winning all three games, the Hillcats have improved to 28-37 when their opponents score first...The Dash fell to 38-23 when they score first, which third-worst in the league, still ahead of the Hillcats (32-22) and Carolina (34-27)...
COMEBACK 'CATS: Saturday's win was the 14th come-from-behind win in the seventh inning or later for Lynchburg, and the sixth time they've come back late against the Dash...Ten of these late comebacks have now happened at home, but two of the four on the road have been in Winston-Salem...The Hillcats are tied for the second most wins (8) in the league when trailing after seven innings, and tied for the most wins (5) when trailing after eighth...Last night, they beat the Dash 2-1 tied after eight innings...They are now 7-4 in such situations, good for the best winning percentage in the league...
MR. CLUTCH: The Hillcats collected their 10th walk-off of the season on Sunday ...C Joe Odom had the game-winning RBI single...It was his second walk-off RBI of the season of the season...His first was an RBI sac fly in the bottom of the 10th inning on June 23 which gave the Hillcats a 6-5 win, also over the Dash...Odom also hit a game-winning home run on the road last week...His 14th inning solo homer in Salem last Wednesday gave the Hillcats a 2-1 win...Of his six home runs this season, three have tied the game, and one has put the Hillcats ahead...
MILLER TIME: RHP Jarett Miller continues his incredibly consistent stretch Sunday ...He allowed just one run over six innings and collected his 10th quality start in his last 12 outings...He had just two quality starts in his first 12 starts this season (one was cut short due to rain after one inning)...He is 6-1 with a 3.69 ERA over his last 12 starts...On the season he ranks tied for fourth in wins (8), third in strikeouts (111), third in innings pitched (132), and tied for first in starts (24)...
THE STOPPER: RHP Alex Wilson earned his 15th save in 15 chances Saturday night...He leads all active players in the league in saves, and ranks second overall to RHP Mark Peterson, who is now in Double-A...Wilson has allowed just one run over his last 20 appearances, spanning 26 innings...His ERA has dropped from 2.87 to 1.73...He ranks fourth amongst league relievers with a .204 batting average against and leads all relievers with a 8.95 baserunners per nine innings ratio...
TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER: RHP James Dykstra was selected in the sixth round of the 2013 draft by the Chicago White Sox out of Cal State-San Marcos...The San Diego, CA native had originally attended LSU but transferred to San Marcos after his sophomore season after his coaches told him playing time would be hard to come by...Dykstra chose San Marcos, an NAIA school, so he wouldn't have to sit out a year...He went 9-4 with a 2.02 ERA in 13 starts his junior season...Was named the National Association of Independent Institutions Pitcher of the Year, but went undrafted...He then set single season school records for wins, ERA, strikeouts, and complete games his senior year and earned the White Sox attention...Went 0-0 with a 5.06 ERA in six relief appearances in his 2013 with Rookie-level Great Falls...Started 2014 with Low-A Kannapolis...Went 6-8 with a 2.64 ERA in 16 starts...Struck out 82 and walked on 10 in 99 innings...Tonight is his sixth start with Hi-A Winston-Salem...He was 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA through four starts, which included a six inning, two runs, one earned, performance against the Hillcats...But he allowed eight earned in just 3.1 innings last Wednesday, shooting his ERA up to 4.80...Has only walked two and has struck out 27 in 30 innings...
Carolina League Stories from August 12, 2014
- Hillcats Notch 18 Hits in 9-3 Victory - Lynchburg Hillcats
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- Rain on the Grand Strand Postpones Mudcats/Pelicans - Carolina Mudcats
- Mudcats Game Notes - Carolina Mudcats
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes (August 12 vs. Lynchburg) - Winston-Salem Dash
- Pelicans Game Notes: 7:05 at Carolina Mudcats - August 12, 2014 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Mother Nature 4, Sox & P-Nats 0 - Salem Red Sox
- Rain Rain Go Away, P-Nats Postponed For Fourth Straight Game - Potomac Nationals
- OF C.J. Beatty signed from independent Washington Wild Things - Winston-Salem Dash
- Keys and Blue Rocks Postponed - Frederick Keys
- Blue Rocks and Keys Postponed Due to Rain - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Salem Red Sox Game Notes - Salem Red Sox
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