Emerson Landoni went 3-for-4 with a home run to give him back-to-back three-hit games and four RBIs since joining the Lynchburg Hillcats, but Lynchburg fell to Potomac, 10-2, at Calvin Falwell Field Saturday night.
Landoni’s solo home run came with two outs in the eighth inning to give him 12 in his career, making the score 7-2. Will Skinner followed with a double that hit off the top of the wall in left-center field, but those marked the only two extra-base hits for Lynchburg (35-37).
Potomac (39-32) saw its first two batters reach base and score, including an RBI triple by Stephen Perez, as part of a three-run first inning. The Nationals led the rest of the way, tacking on another run in the third inning to take a 4-0 advantage. Will Piwnica-Worms had an RBI single in both frames.
Lucas Sims (5-5) suffered the loss after surrendering four runs on six hits in five innings. The right-hander struck out two batters while walking the same amount. Matthew Spann (5-1) tossed five scoreless innings and held the Lynchburg offense to four hits to earn the victory.
Leading 4-0, Potomac added a pair of runs in the seventh against Navery Moore when Perez drew a two-out walk and Oscar Tejeda cranked a two-run homer to left field.
The Hillcats finally broke through on the scoreboard when Kyle Wren hit a two-out single to right field, stole second base and scored on an RBI single by Daniel Castro in the seventh. Castro’s 31st RBI of the season cut the deficit to 6-1. Wren’s 33rd stolen base moved him two away from the league lead held by former teammate Jose Peraza, who has since been promoted to Double-A Mississippi.
Potomac plated four runs off reliever Matt Chaffee in the final two stanzas to stretch the lead. Randolph Oduber singled, stole a base and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the eighth. Oduber added an RBI single in the ninth, an inning that saw Tony Renda, Perez and Tejeda all score. Shawn Pleffner contributed an RBI double in the three-run ninth to push the final margin to 10-2.
The Hillcats continue their homestand Sunday when they welcome the Winston-Salem Dash to town for a three-game series. Cody Scarpetta (0-1, 5.40) will start against right-hander Tyler Danish (1-1, 5.48) in the 6:05pm tilt. Gates open at 5pm, and select Hillcats will be available to sign autographs in the concourse area until 5:30pm. Erik Wilson and Kyle West will have the play-by-play on 97.9 The Planet beginning at 5:40pm.
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Chris Graham
