Soto Slams Cats to Victory
June 28, 2010 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
Neftali Soto belted a go-ahead Grand Slam in the sixth inning as the Hillcats came back from a 5-1 deficit, and held on to win 9-8. The slam was the Hillcats second Grand Slam of the season, and the Cats tied their largest output of the season.
The Pelicans got on the board in the first inning. The first three hitters reached off starter Curtis Partch. Mycal Jones walked to lead off the game, followed by a Cory Harrilchak single. Dan Nelson continued his good series by hitting a two-run double. So far in this series, Nelson has driven in eight runs. Nelson later scored on a Travis Jones sacrifice fly.
Myrtle Beach added another in the second. Cole Miles reached on an infield single and scored on Harrilchak's double to make it 4-0 Myrtle Beach. The Cats and Pelicans traded runs for two innings after that. Lynchburg scored one in the bottom of the second on an RBI groundout by Jose Gualdron.
In the third, the birds scored after Samuel Sime reached on an error by shortstop Brodie Greene. Luis Sumoza drove him home with a double. In the bottom of the third, Cody Puckett hit a solo home run to draw the Cats back within three.
The bats went silent until the bottom of the fifth. Greene nailed his first professional home run with one out. With two outs, Neftali Soto was hit by a pitch. That started a two-run, two-out rally featuring singles from Josh Fellhauer, Kevin Coddington and Kyle Day. The last two both scored runs, tying the game at five.
Lynchburg picked up right where they left off in the sixth. Shane Carlson led off the inning with a double. He advanced to third on Puckett's sacrifice bunt, but Puckett reached on Julio Teheran's fielding error. After striking out Greene, Teheran walked Felix Perez to face Soto. On an 0-1 pitch, Soto cracked a Grand Slam over the right field wall to put the Cats up 9-5.
In the seventh inning, Partch was still in and surrendered a lead-off double to Mycal Jones. Harrilchak reached on an error, and Nelson homered to right field to pull the Pelicans within one. That chased Partch from the game, but he gets credit for the win after six plus innings of work.
The first two hitters reached in the top of the ninth inning. Harrilchak bunted aboard, ad Nelson reached on an error by Carlson. Closer Donnie Joseph then struck out Mike Jones, induced an infield fly from Travis Jones and got Sime to ground out to a diving Greene at short to end the game and earn the save. It was his sixth with the Hillcats.
Lynchburg and Myrtle Beach conclude their three-game series tomorrow at 7:05. Jordan Hotchkiss (4-1, 1.97 ERA) starts for Lynchburg against Matt Crim (4-6, 4.28 ERA) for Myrtle Beach. City Stadium features the ABC 13 Dollar Menu to end this brief, three-game homestand.
Carolina League Stories from June 28, 2010
- Red Sox Rout Dash 12-1 on Monday Night - Salem Red Sox
- Frederick Falls in Extras, 4-3 - Frederick Keys
- K-Tribe Gets to Frias Early - Potomac Nationals
- Soto Slams Cats to Victory - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Weird Night Leads to Wilmington Win in Extras - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Kinston Takes Series from Potomac with 6-5 Win - Kinston Indians
- Salem Gets Revenge in 12-1 Throttling - Winston-Salem Dash
- Bray Heads Back to the Bigs - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Lamb Claims Weekly Honor - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- K-Tribe Notes - Kinston Indians
- Former Hillcat Presley Hits for Cycle - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Mahoney Named Carolina League Player of the Week - Frederick Keys
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