'Cats shut out by Kinston

After the Hillcats shut out the Indians 8-0 on Friday night, Kinston returned the favor on Saturday, beating Lynchburg 9-0.

The Indians started the scoring in the second. Justin Toole led off with a double. The next batter, Tyler Cannon singled him home. Lynchburg starter Blaine Sims walked the next two batters he faced to load the bases. Tyler Holt then grounded into a fielders choice, which scored Cannon from third to give Kinston a 2-0 lead.

The Hillcats helped Kinston score a run in the fifth. With two outs, the defense committed two errors in a row, one by third baseman Joe Leonard and one by right fielder Keenan Wiley. It allowed a run to cross the plate and put Kinston up 3-0. Sims (2-1) couldn’t escape the that inning and he took his first loss of the year.

Kinston scored three more in the sixth. The big blow in the inning was a two-run double by Anthony Gallas. Doug Pickens led off the seventh with a home run to put Kinston up 7-0.

The Hillcats had chances to score early against starter TJ House. They left a runner on third in both the second and third innings, and had a runner thrown out at the plate in the third. House (5-6) pitched six shutout innings, giving up five hits and striking out four.

The Indians scored two more, one in the eighth and one in the ninth, and the bullpen was able to preserve the shutout. The game ended with a 9-0 Hillcats loss.

Kinston improves to 37-31, while Lynchburg falls to 30-39.

The first half of the season wraps up Sunday afternoon at Calvin Falwell Field. Lefty Dimasther Delgado (4-4) will take the mound for Lynchburg, and he will face righty Clayton Cook (6-4). First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 pm , and gates will open at 1.

If you can’t make it to the game, the Hillcats On-Deck Show presented by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg will go on the air at 1:40 pm. Tune in to 105.5 KD Country or go to lynchburg-hillcats.com to listen live to all the action.