The Salem Red Sox scored runs in four consecutive innings from the fourth to the seventh and cruised past the Lynchburg Hillcats 7-2 on Wednesday night at LewisGale Field.
Lynchburg was on the board first thanks to a solo home run from Mike Papi in the second inning. Meanwhile, Dace Kime struck out four his first time through the order, as Salem went nine-up and nine-down.
The Sox got going in the fourth, with Mauricio Dubon leading off the inning with a double. He scored one batter later on an RBI double from Wendell Rijo, tying the game at one. Rijo was then caught stealing third and the Red Sox went on to load the bases, but left them that way thanks to back-to-back strikeouts to end the frame.
Salem kept the line moving in the fifth with a two-out rally. Dubon singled and swiped second, allowing Rijo to drive him home with a single. Kevin Heller then turned on one and smashed a double to left-center, scoring Rijo to push the lead to 3-1.
In the sixth, Franklin Guzman singled then stole second. With Guzman on third and the infield in, Zach Kapstein shot a grounder to third and Guzman was thrown out attempting to score. Deiner Lopez later spanked a double to right-center, scoring Kapstein to push the Red Sox lead to 4-1.
Kevin McAvoy got the first two Hillcats in the sixth, but walked Clint Frazier then allowed a single to Dorssys Paulino, moving Frazier to third. Paul Hendrix then doubled to left, scoring Frazier. McAvoy was lifted in favor of Mike Adams, who got Mike Papi to line out to short, ending the inning with Salem leading 4-2.
McAvoy (11-9) took the win with two runs allowed on four base hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 5.2 innings. McAvoy won his sixth consecutive start and moved into a tie for the active league lead with his 11th win.
Salem added insurance in the seventh inning, beginning with a Heller single. He came around to score in the next at bat as Mario Martinez yanked a double to left. Mike Meyers then reached on an error by Hendrix at third, advancing Martinez to third. Jordan Procyshen later chopped a grounder to short and reached on a throwing error on Ivan Castillo, scoring Martinez in the process. Mike Meyers followed by singling through the hole at second, scoring Meyers and making the score 7-2.
Adams was strong in relief, allowing only one hit with three strikeouts over 2.1 innings. Kime (3-8) took the loss with three runs allowed on seven hits with six strikeouts in five innings.
Dubon was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored, Rijo went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored and Heller finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Martinez was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a run scored and an RBI. In total, the top four hitters were 10-for-18 with six doubles, five runs scored and four RBI.
The Red Sox win improved their record to 62-72 and 24-40 in the second half while the Hillcats dropped to 70-65 and 37-28. The Sox and the Hillcats conclude their season series on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with Daniel McGrath (3-6, 3.86) taking on Lynchburg’s Michael Peoples (11-3, 3.50).
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