Emotional win for Lynchburg

A somber scene opened Sunday night’s game between the Hillcats and the Keys, as a moment of silence was held for Calvin Falwell, who passed away the previous night. Once the game started, the Hillcats dominated en route to a 12-1 win.

The Hillcats jumped out early against Keys starter Nathan Moreau. In the first inning, Andrelton Simmons got things started with a one-out double. Todd Cunningham singled to right, and Simmons made an aggressive turn around third and scored on the play. Joey Terdoslavich followed with a shot off the wall in left-center. Cunningham scored and Terdoslavich cruised into second with his 49th double of the season, two shy of the single-season Carolina League record. Joe Leonard grounded out, and then Christian Bethancourt singled home Terdoslavich to put the Hillcats up 3-0.

Lynchburg continued their hot-hitting in the second inning. Ryan Query led off the inning with a double, his first hit in the Carolina League. L.V. Ware sacrificed him over to third. Keenan Wiley hit a shallow fly ball to left that wasn’t far enough out to score Query. Simmons came through with a two-out single to score Query. Todd Cunningham followed with his fourth home run of the season, a long fly ball that just barely cleared the wall in left field, to make it 6-0.

Moreau got through the next three innings unscathed, and left the game after five innings. Justin Moore entered the game for the Keys. 11 batters came to the plate in the inning, and six runs scored on five hits. The Hillcats had only one extra-base hit in the inning, a double from Simmons, but when the dust cleared, the Hillcats led 12-0.

Caleb Brewer had a fantastic outing in his second start with the Hillcats. Brewer (1-0) pitched eight shutout innings, giving up just three hits. Mark Lamm came into the ninth inning and gave up a run, but the Hillcats won 12-1.

The 12 runs tied for the most scored by the Hillcats this season, and the 11-run margin of victory also tied for the season high. The Hillcats improved to 25-31 in the second half, and with a loss by Potomac, are only five games behind Potomac for the second-half playoff spot. Frederick fell to 34-22.

The Hillcats have an off-day Monday night before going out on the road for a six-game road trip. The first game will be played in Myrtle Beach at 7:05 pm Tuesday night.