Frederick scored 10 unanswered runs over the final five frames to win the rubber match with the Hillcats, 13-5, at City Stadium Wednesday night.
Lynchburg held an initial 4-0 lead after two innings. Ka’ai Tom singled to lead off the first and came home two batters later by Andrew Calica. The Hillcats continued their scoring in the second. Anthony Miller doubled to plate both Martin Cervenka and Sicnarf Loopstok. Miller scored on a sacrifice fly from Willi Castro.
The Keys pulled within one in the top of the third when Ademar Rifaela clobbered a three-run home run to right. The Hillcats responded in the bottom of the fourth. Castro singled to shallow center, and Tom came around to score from second, making it 5-3 Hillcats.
Frederick claimed its first lead of the game in the fifth. Jay Gonzalez doubled to left to score Chris Clare. Gonzalez and Drew Turbin came in to score later in the inning on the strength of a Rifaela single to right. Frederick led 6-5 at that point.
The Keys extended the margin in the sixth when Alex Murphy hammered his 10th home run of the season, bringing in Yermin Mercedes in the process. With the bases loaded and two outs, Randolph Gassaway reached on an error, scoring Turbin. One batter later, Shane Hoelscher drew a walk to push across Gonzalez and stretch the margin to 10-5. A three-run homer by Armando Araiza plated Mercedes and Clare to push it to 13-5.
Triston McKenzie (9-5) took the loss after giving up seven runs on five hits over five-plus innings. Cristian Alvarado (6-8) earned the win, even though he let up five runs on 10 hits while working five frames.
The Hillcats kick off a new series against the Winston-Salem Dash Thursday night at City Stadium. Nick Pasquale (0-0, –) will make his first appearance at the Advanced-A level this year. He will be opposed by Dash right-hander Jimmy Lambert (2-1, 4.46). It’s Hair Metal Night as part of 80s week, so be ready to rock and roll all night. Gates open at 5:30 for a 6:30 start time. Those who cannot attend the game can catch it live at www.lynchburg-hillcats.com.
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Chris Graham
