CarL1 Lynchburg Hillcats

Ray Chang has proven himself ready to play

Published on May 18, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release


THE HILLCATS:

Yesterday afternoon Lynchburg won 4-0 over Wilmington in the rubber match of the three-game series at City Stadium after waiting through a 55-minute rain delay to start the game...The Hillcats have now won nine of 12 games...They also have a game and a half lead over Potomac for first place in the Northern Division and the best record in the league...Tonight is the first game of a four-game series at Frederick and a seven-game road trip...This trip finishes off a stretch of 13 out of 16 on the road for the Cats...

VS. FREDERICK:

Lynchburg took two out of three from Frederick when they met earlier this season at City Stadium...Last season the Keys won the season series against the Cats 12-7 and went 6-4 at home...Lynchburg though holds the all-time advantage 145-130 and they are 69-66 at Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick...

SERIES STREAK:

The series victory over Wilmington gives Lynchburg four straight series victories, including a rain shortened series sweep over Myrtle Beach to start this stretch...They are 9-3 over that time...The Hillcats are 5-1 in series at City Stadium this season and are 3-1-1 in sets on the road with three straight series wins away from the Hill City...

FINE FINALE:

The win in the final game of the three-game series yesterday, moved the Hillcats to 6-4 in series finales this season and 3-2 in rubber matches...They are an outstanding 10-1 in series openers heading into game one of this series at Frederick tonight...

HEXED:

The Hillcats avoided the curse of the first run yesterday by scoring first and going on to win 4-0...In the first two games of the series and in four of the last five Cats games before Sunday, the team that scored first went on to lose...Lynchburg came from three runs down to win 6-5 in 10 innings in game one on Friday, while Wilmington came from four runs down to win 6-5 on Saturday night...The Green & Gold are 9-5 when getting the first run of the game...

BACK TO FORM:

The bullpen threw three scoreless innings yesterday to help secure a 4-0 win and the second shutout of the season for Lynchburg...This after they could not hold onto a three-run lead they were handed in the seventh inning on Saturday night...RHP Dustin Molleken has not allowed a run in his last six outings (13 innings) and RHP Michael Dubee has not allowed a run in his last ten appearances (11 and 2/3 innings), including a scoreless innings to ensure the win yesterday...

McTASTIC:

RHP Matt McSwain tossed six scoreless innings en route to earning his third win of the season...Over his last four starts, the right-hander is 3-0 with a 3.09 ERA...He has gone at least five innings in all four of those starts (including a Hillcats long six and 2/3 two starts ago), after failing to go five frames in his first fur outings...

PUT ME IN, COACH, I'M READY TO PLAY TODAY: .

INF Ray Chang has proven himself ready to play when called upon this season...His two-hit performance yesterday extended his season-long hitting streak to ten games...That passes OF Alex Presley for the longest streak of the season by a Hillcat...Over that stretch Chang has gone 16-for-39 (.410) with 10 RBI and nine runs scored...Yesterday he also made two outstanding defensive plays at second base at crucial times in the game...The play he made in the top of the fourth inning, a diving stop and flip to second to start an inning ending double play, might have been the best defensive play by a Hillcat this season...His ten-game hit-streak has covered 23 Hillcats games and Chang had not played prior to Sunday since Wednesday...

TONIGHT'S OPPOSING PITCHER:

LHP Nate Nery was selected in the 18th round of the 2006 amateur entry draft by the Orioles out of Stetson University...His junior and final season with the Hatters he went 7-5 with a 4.53 ERA in 26 games (12 starts)...That same year he made his professional debut with short season Low-A Aberdeen and posted 3-4 record with a 5.17 earned run average with 14 games (nine starts)...He returned to the IronBirds in 2007 and went 5-4 mark with a 4.08 ERA in 22 games (eight starts)...Last season he advanced to full season Low-A and had a 7-3 record with a 3.39 ERA with Delmarva...He was again with the Shorebirds to start this season and was 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA in five games (four starts) before getting the call-up to Frederick...Since his promotion the lefty has gone 0-1 with a 3.00 earned run average in two starts...Tonight will be his first start against Lynchburg...

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Carolina League Stories from May 18, 2009


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