CarL1 Carolina Mudcats

Monsalve's Slam Drives Mudcats to Series Win

Published on July 10, 2014 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Carolina Mudcats News Release


Lynchburg, Va. - Alex Monsalve unleashed a grand slam in the seventh inning and the Carolina Mudcats pulled away for an 11-6 win over the Lynchburg Hillcats on Thursday night at Calvin Falwell Field. The Mudcats (13-9, 42-47) claim the four-game series over the Hillcats (9-12, 43-48) and claim sole possession of first place in the Carolina League Southern Division.

Clayton Cook (1-3) earned his first win since 2012 with three innings of relief. The right-hander relented two runs on four hits with a walk. Nate Hyatt (3-3) suffered the loss thanks to Monsalve's blast. Across three innings, he allowed four runs on three hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts.

The game seesawed through the first six innings. Lynchburg took the lead in the first on a two-out homer by Jose Martinez to left. The Mudcats tied it up on a double by Jeremy Lucas in the fifth.

The Hillcats quickly claimed the lead back by scoring three in the bottom of the frame. Will Skinner doubled home the go-ahead run and a sac-fly to center by Levi Hyams made it 3-1. David Nick capped the scoring for Lynchburg with a single to center, bringing home Skinner.

Luigi Rodriguez jumpstarted a four-run Carolina fifth on a single to right. LeVon Washington followed with grounder to third, but the Hillcats missed on the force at second when Kevin Ahrens' throw pulled Eric Garcia off the bag. Yhoxian Medina singled to load the bases for for Erik Gonzalez. The Mudcats' shortstop smashed a triple into left-center, tying the game at four. Joe Sever followed with a sharp grounder to center and Gonzalez scored for a 5-4 lead.

Hyams drew a walk to begin the sixth inning and scored on a single by Garcia to knot the game at five.

Monsalve's heroics in the seventh were setup when a pitch hit Sever, Lucas walked and Jerrud Sabourin singled. Carolina's catcher tagged a hanging slider, belting it way out to left.

After Lynchburg scored a run on a ground out in the last of the seventh, the Mudcats put the game on ice with two runs in the ninth. Lucas and Sabourin provided the final touches with base hits.

Carolina returns home to host the Winston-Salem Dash with the first of four games on Friday, July 11. Tickets and other information are available by calling the box office at (919) 269-2287 or by logging on to carolinamudcats.com.

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Carolina League Stories from July 10, 2014


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