Castro homers in 4-2 Hillcats win

Connor Marabell went 2-4 with a pair of RBIs, and Willi Castro hit his eighth home run of the year to help Lynchburg win its series opener against Winston-Salem, 4-2, at City Stadium Thursday night.

On the mound, Nick Pasquale made his first appearance with the Hillcats in 2017 after pitching in 18 games for Double-A Akron. The right-hander tossed five scoreless frames and struck out six. Pasquale only surrendered three hits and did not walk anyone. Ben Krauth also made his debut after being promoted from Low-A Lake County Thursday. He went 2 1/3 innings of middle relief, and the only runs against him came on a two-run homer by Eloy Jimenez. Krauth struck out four in a row at one point.

With one out and a runner at third base in the eighth inning, Argenis Angulo entered the game. He retired two in a row to preserve the Hillcats’ 4-2 lead through eight. Angulo pitched the ninth inning as well to register his 13th save, which is tied for second in the Carolina League.

The Hillcats built an initial 4-0 advantage with a pair of runs in both the second and third stanzas. Marabell and Carter had back-to-back RBI singles in the second inning to drive in Gavin Collins and Ka’ai Tom. In the third, Castro began the frame with a solo homer to right-center field. It was his fourth home run batting left-handed this season and gave him eight RBIs in his last six games. Marabell added his second RBI single of the day later in that frame when he knocked in Tom, who doubled one batter before him.

Lynchburg hosts the Winston-Salem Dash Friday night at 6:30 p.m. Shao-Ching Chiang (7-8, 3.96) will take the mound in search of his first victory since June 1. Gates open at 5:30, and the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a free fanny pack as part of 80s week. Those who cannot attend the game can catch it live at www.lynchburg-hillcats.com.