Salem Drops High-Scoring Affair to Lynchburg, 10-8

Sports stats



CarL Salem Red Sox

Salem Drops High-Scoring Affair to Lynchburg, 10-8

April 15, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Salem Red Sox News Release


SALEM, Va. - The Salem Red Sox (4-6) fell to the Lynchburg Hillcats (5-5), 10-8, in a back-and-forth Tuesday afternoon matchup at Carilion Clinic Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

With strong winds blowing at first pitch, Lynchburg got on the board early with a run in the top of the first. Salem responded in the bottom half when Yoeilin Cespedes ripped a triple and was driven in by an Antonio Anderson single to tie the game at 1-1 after one inning.

The Hillcats continued to apply pressure, adding runs in both the second and third innings to take a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth.

Lynchburg starter Melkis Hernandez quickly recorded the first two outs in the fourth before the Red Sox lineup sparked a rally. After a walk to Yosander Asencio and a hit by pitch to Natanael Yuten, RBI leader Kelvin Diaz came through with a line drive single to left, scoring Asencio for his ninth RBI of the campaign. Franklin Arias followed with an RBI single of his own, and a wild pitch brought Diaz home to tie the game. Cespedes capped the inning with his second triple of the afternoon, driving in another run and giving Salem a four-run frame and a 5-3 lead.

Salem starter Steven Brooks exited in the fifth after throwing 75 pitches over 4.1 innings, recording three strikeouts. Right-hander Nicholas Judice made his season debut out of the bullpen but struggled with command, walking three and giving up a game-tying two-run homer to Luis Merejo. The teams were deadlocked at 5-5 after five.

The Red Sox offense roared back in the bottom of the sixth with a sacrifice fly by Cespedes, an RBI double from Anderson, and an RBI single from Andruw Musett to retake the lead, 8-5.

But Lynchburg had one more rally left.

A leadoff double by Merejo in the seventh sparked a four-hit, five-run explosion - all via doubles - against relievers Eybersson Polanco and Michael Sansone, pushing the Hillcats ahead, 10-8.

From there, Hillcats reliever Sean Heppner dominated, retiring all seven batters he faced before turning things over to Logan McGuire, who closed out the game to earn the save and seal a 10-8 victory for Lynchburg.

Salem has now lost five straight games dating back to Thursday, April 10, and falls to two games under .500.

The Red Sox and Hillcats resume their six-game series Wednesday morning as part of Education Day, with first pitch scheduled for 11:05 a.m. Left-hander Brandon Clarke, the No. 30 prospect in the Red Sox organization, will make his second start of the season. He'll face off against Braylon Doughty, the Guardians' No. 9 prospect.

Check out the Salem Red Sox Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Carolina League message board...

Carolina League Stories from April 15, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central