After Lynchburg only scored seven runs over the previous five games, the bats woke up Monday night. Adam Milligan and Joe Leonard each hit a home run and Blaine Sims pitched six shutout innings to lead the Hillcats over the Wilmington Blue Rocks 5-0.
Milligan led off the bottom of the second with a home run to right-center, his tenth of the season. Joey Terdoslavich and Leonard followed with back-to-back doubles to score another run. Leonard scored two batters later when Shawn McGill singled, and the Hillcats took an early 3-0 lead.
Keenan Wiley led off the bottom of the third with a double. He scored three batters later on an RBI groundout from Milligan to put Lynchburg up 4-0.
For the third straight inning, the Hillcats led off with an extra base hit. Leonard started the Hillcats’ half of the fourth with a home run, his third of the year. The Hillcats had ten hits in the game, and every batter reached base.
Blaine Sims pitched a gem in his second start of the year for Lynchburg. Sims (2-0) pitched six shutout innings, allowing seven hits and striking out four. The six-inning outing was his longest of the season and tied his career-high. A different reliever came out in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings for the Hillcats, and they combined to keep the 5-0 shutout intact.
Justin Marks took the loss for the Blue Rocks, falling to 2-5. The Hillcats improved their record to 28-35, while the Blue Rocks dropped to 32-30.
The Hillcats and Blue Rocks will play a doubleheader Tuesday night. In the first game, at 6:05 pm, Lynchburg lefty Chris Masters (4-2) will face Elisaul Pimental (3-3). In game two, lefty Dimasther Delgado (4-4) will make his second start since returning from the disabled list against Wilmington’s Michael Mariot (5-0). Each game will be seven innings long.
The Hillcats On-Deck Show presented by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg will go on the air at 5:50 pm. Tune in to 105.5 KD Country or go to lynchburg-hillcats.com to listen live to all the action.
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