‘Cats take pair of games at Potomac, 3-0 and 11-3

Lynchburg scored 11 runs on 15 hits in the nightcap of a doubleheader to win 11-3 after blanking Potomac for a 3-0 victory earlier in the day at Pfitzner Stadium. By sweeping the twin bill, the Hillcats moved into second place in the Northern Division and raised their record to a season-best 15-12.

Matt Esparza (2-2) started the first game and only surrendered one hit over five scoreless innings to set the table for the Hillcats’ third shutout of the year. Billy Strode struck out one in the sixth, and Argenis Angulo struck out the side in the seventh to seal the win. Angulo earned his second save of the season.

Ka’ai Tom led the offense in the initial contest, going 2-4 with an RBI double and an RBI triple. The outfielder now leads the Hillcats with 15 RBIs for the year, including nine in his last 10 games. Martin Cervenka also had a multi-hit game, while Daniel Salters had an RBI. Yonathan Mendoza, Connor Marabell, and Ivan Castillo scored the runs for Lynchburg.

In game two, the Hillcats posted four different multi-run innings, including a four-run first that put them in front for the duration of the contest. Andrew Calica opened the game with an opposite-field single, and Tom followed with a walk. Marabell andCervenka each had RBI singles and later scored. Mendoza drove in a pair with a one-out single to give Lynchburg a 4-0 lead.

Loopstok drilled a two-run homer off the scoreboard in left to make it 6-2 in the second and added a two-run single in the fourth to stretch the margin to 8-2. Mendoza had a leadoff single in the fifth inning and later came home on an RBI groundout by Claudio Bautista. The Hillcats tacked on two more in the sixth. Loopstok doubled, and Marabell singled. Mendoza and Castillo each drove in a run with two-out base hits to push the final score to 11-3.

Four different relievers combined to pitch the seven innings of the second game. Kieran Lovegrove went the first two and allowed two runs while striking out three. Jordan Milbrath (1-0) received the win in his 2017 debut with two punchouts in two scoreless innings. Dominic DeMasi gave up one run and struck out a pair in two frames before Justin Garcia fanned two as part of a perfect seventh to end the game.

Lynchburg attempts to complete a four-game sweep of the Nationals Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Shane Bieber will make his Advanced-A debut. The game can be heard live at www.lynchburg-hillcats.com, beginning at 1 p.m.