Aaron Civale deals on birthday in 8-1 Hillcats win

Aaron Civale held Wilmington to two earned baserunners in eight innings on his 22nd birthday, and the Hillcats offense belted out eight runs on 14 hits to defeat the Blue Rocks by an 8-1 score at City Stadium Monday night.

Lynchburg started quickly, beginning the game with three straight hits. Sicnarf Loopstok drove in Ka’ai Tom to cap off the string of three consecutive singles. Two batters later, Willi Castro singled through a drawn-in infield to knock in Yonathan Mendoza and Sicnarf Loopstok, giving Lynchburg a 3-0 lead at the end of the first.

In the third, Loopstok continued to produce by leading off the inning with a triple. He later scored on a hard hit single from Martin Cervenka. Later in the inning, Cervenka came home on a sac fly provided by Jodd Carter. Just one batter later, Anthony Miller blasted a liner off the wall in right, scoring Willi Castro and giving Lynchburg a commanding 6-0 lead.

Lynchburg’s Aaron Civale (2-1) had a phenomenal first outing at Calvin Falwell Field, allowing just one run on two hits over eight innings on his 22nd birthday. Both hits occurred in the fourth inning. Nicky Lopez doubled to begin the frame, and Anderson Miller singled to cut the deficit to 6-1. However, the only other Blue Rocks’ runner came on an error, as Civale struck out four and walked none.

Justin Garcia worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to seal an 8-1 victory. Andres Machado dropped to 2-6 this season as he allowed eight runs, seven earned, on 13 hits over just six innings of work.

In the fifth, Anthony Miller notched his second RBI of the evening when he doubled in Daniel Salters, who had doubled two batters previously. One inning later, Lynchburg continued to pour it on as Ka’ai Tom crushed one over the center field fence for his fourth home run of the season, putting his team up 8-1.

The series continues tomorrow when the teams play two contests to make up for a game rained out in Wilmington earlier this season. It’s a Two Fur Tuesday, so fans can buy one ticket and get the second ticket free. All tickets are good for both games. Fans who cannot attend can hear both games live at www.lynchburg-hillcats.com.