Lynchburg hitters recorded 12 hits on Tuesday night, but left 12 runners on base, as they fell to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 6-4 to end the homestand.
The Hillcats scored first in the bottom of the second inning. Shawn McGill hit a solo home run to left-center field, his fourth of the season, and the Hillcats led 1-0. However, the lead did not last long.
After the leadoff batter was hit by a pitch in the top of the third, the Pelicans recorded five hits in a row off of Hillcats starter Blaine Sims. Three runs came in to score, and the Pelicans took a 3-1 lead.
In the top of the fourth, David Paisano hit a one-out double. Santiago Chirino hit a long fly ball to center field. Paisano tagged and raced to third. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons took the throw, and despite the runner already being almost to the base, fired the throw to third. It hit Paisano and bounced towards the stands. Paisano got up and ran home for an unearned run against Sims (2-3).
The Hillcats fought their way back into the game. Phil Gosselin hit a double down the left field line in the fifth inning, and Joey Terdoslavich followed with a single to cut the lead to 4-2. Simmons hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, scoring Keenan Wiley to cut the lead to one.
The Pelicans scored two more in the seventh to go ahead 6-3. The Myrtle Beach bullpen cruised through the seventh and eighth innings before the Hillcats made things interesting in the ninth.
Down three, the Hillcats had runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, Joe Leonard hit a grounder to Chirino at second that looked like it would end the game. However, Chirino bobbled the ball, and Leonard reached safely to load the bases. After Geraldo Rodriguez fouled off several two-strike pitches, he was hit in the leg to bring home a run. However, Johan Yan, who pitched the entire ninth inning, struck out McGill to end the game and give the Pelicans a 6-4 win.
Barret Loux (8-3) worked five innings for the win. Yan earned his ninth save of the season.
The Hillcats saw their three-game winning streak come to an end as they couldn’t complete the sweep, and fell to 5-7 in the second half. Myrtle Beach improved to 6-7.
Lynchburg starts a three-game series in Kinston tomorrow. Righty Aaron Shafer (2-1) will pitch against Kinston lefty Drew Pomeranz (2-2). First pitch is at 6:30 pm.
The Hillcats On-Deck Show presented by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg will go on the air at 6:10 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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