The Hillcats fell behind the Winston-Salem Dash early in the game Thursday night. Barrett Kleinknecht tied up the game with a home run in the fifth inning, but the Dash scored three in the seventh to win 6-3.
The Hillcats took advantage of a pair of errors to score the first run of the game. The leadoff man, Andrelton Simmons, hit a hard bouncer to second baseman Luis Sierra. Sierra backed up on it, and then bobbled the ball when it hit his glove. Simmons reached first safely. During the next at-bat, Simmons tried to take off for second. The throw from the catcher was in time, but the shortstop, Tyler Saladino couldn’t squeeze the ball. It went into shallow right field, and Simmons reached third. Later in the inning, Adam Milligan doubled to left field and Simmons came in to score to give the Hillcats a 1-0 lead.
A pair of home runs for the Dash gave them the lead. Kyle Colligan hit a solo home run off the scoreboard in left to tie the game in the second inning. Then, in the third, Ian Gac launched a ball over the batter’s eye in center for a two-run home run, and the Dash were up 3-1.
The Hillcats clawed their way back into the game. Joey Terdoslavich led off the fourth inning with a double. Four batters later, Marcus Lemon singled to score him, and the lead was cut to 3-2.
Then, in the fifth inning, Barrett Kleinknecht led off with a shot out to left field. It cleared the wall for his third home run of the season and tied the game at three.
The Dash broke the game open in the seventh. Relief pitcher Dimasther Delgado retired the first two batters he faced. Tyler Saladino doubled, and Jared Mitchell followed with a walk. Andy Wilkins hit a double to right-center which scored both runners. Wilkins scored on a single by Ian Gac, and the Dash went up 6-3.
The score would remain that way for the rest of the game. Taylor Thompson came into the game in the ninth and pitched a perfect inning to earn his ninth save of the year.
Matt Wickswat (2-1) pitched six innings to earn the win for the Dash. Delgado (5-6) took the loss for the Hillcats.
The Dash improved to 10-10 in the second half, while the Hillcats lost their fourth straight to fall to 6-14.
The Hillcats and Dash tangle again Friday night at City Stadium. Righty Zeke Spruill (7-7) will take the mound for Lynchburg, while Winston-Salem will counter with Cameron Bayne (7-4). First pitch is at 7:05 pm, and the gates will open at 6.
The Hillcats On-Deck Show presented by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg will go on the air at 6:40 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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