Bradley Zimmer hit his league-leading ninth home run of the year for the Hillcats, but Lynchburg’s offense struggled in both ends of a Tuesday doubleheader with Frederick, only managing one run on seven hits in the two games combined. The Hillcats fell to Frederick, 3-1 and 3-0 at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium Tuesday. Frederick swept a home doubleheader against the Hillcats for the second time this year, as they also accomplished the feat on April 15.
In the first game of the double dip, all four runs came courtesy of home runs. Frederick used back-to-back homers in the first to build a 3-0 lead. Tucker Nathans hit a two-run homer to right field to drive in Josh Hart, and Trey Mancini followed with his eighth home run of the year to give Frederick a 3-0 cushion before the first out.
In the top of the fourth, Bradley Zimmer began the frame with a solo home run on a line drive to right field to cut it to 3-1. It was Zimmer’s league-best ninth home run, and it gave him 25 RBIs for the season. All nine of Zimmer’s home runs have been solo shots, and five of them have lead off an inning.
Mitch Horacek (4-5) continued his dominance of the Lynchburg Hillcats. The left-hander is 0-5 with a 4.70 ERA against the rest of the league, but after today’s performance, Horacek is 4-0 with a 2.22 ERA when facing Lynchburg. The southpaw limited the Hillcats to one run and only three hits while striking out five in five innings. Jon Keller pitched the final two frames for his third save of the year, while Luis Lugo (3-3) took the loss after giving up three runs on five hits in five innings. Lugo tied his season high with seven strikeouts, which he also achieved April 24 at Potomac.
Lynchburg’s offense only mustered two hits in the second game, one of which was a bunt single by Clint Frazier. The Hillcats went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position in the second game after going 0-for-7 in the first contest.
Frederick didn’t break through until the third inning when Johnny Ruettiger singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Jeff Kemp walked and came home on an RBI double by Mancini to give the Keys a 2-0 margin. Frederick added its final run in the fifth when T.J. Olesczuk singled to open the frame and scored after three consecutive walks issued by Mitch Brown. Adrian Marin notched the RBI on a bases-loaded walk.
Chris Lee (1-1) earned the victory in the second game with five shutout innings. Jimmy Yacabonis tossed a scoreless sixth, and Cody Wheeler registered his eighth save of the season with a perfect seventh. Brown (1-6) took the loss after three runs on five hits in 4 1/3 frames.
Luis Lugo had won three consecutive starts entering today…Lynchburg was shutout for the fifth time this year, but the first since May 6 when Steve Janas threw a one-hitter against the Hillcats in a doubleheader…Four of Lynchburg’s five times being shutout have come in seven-inning games…Bradley Zimmer saw his season-high nine-game hitting streak and 15-game on-base streak end with an 0-for-3 performance in game two…
Lynchburg enjoys an Off Day Wednesday before returning to action at City Stadium Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. It marks the first of six straight games at home. It is also Halloween Night at the ballpark, and any fan arriving to City Stadium dressed in costume will receive $5 admission. Fans can tune in to the action on ESPN Virginia 93.3 FM and 1320 AM as well as www.lynchburg-hillcats.com beginning at 6:40 p.m. for the Hillcats On-Deck Show.
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