Luis Lugo faced the minimum through five innings and only needed 55 pitches to do so, but Potomac finally broke through in the sixth with a run and went on to a 3-1 victory Friday night at Pfitzner Stadium.
Lugo (0-1) struck out seven and only surrendered four baserunners in six frames, but in the sixth inning a leadoff walk to John Wootenfollowed by an errant pickoff throw allowed him to stand at third with only one out. Estarlin Martinez lined one to right for a base hit and an RBI.
Lynchburg (5-10) answered in the top of the seventh after Bradley Zimmer singled to left to open the stanza. Zimmer then stole his seventh base of the season to tie him for the league lead in that category. Spencer Kieboom’s throw went into center field, and Zimmer advanced to third. Nellie Rodriguez drove him in with a sacrifice fly to right field, tying the game at 1-all.
That marked the only run for Lynchburg Wednesday, which was unearned against Wander Suero (3-0). All three of Suero’s victories have been at the expense of the Hillcats. The right-hander struck out seven in seven innings and only gave up four hits in that time.
Potomac (9-6) scored the deciding two runs in the seventh after three consecutive singles began the frame. Kieboom and Norfork scored in the inning. Drew Ward had an RBI single to give Potomac a 2-1 lead, and Wooten brought home Norfork with a sacrifice fly to center for a 3-1 lead. Ward has notched 10 of his 11 RBIs this season against the Hillcats.
Luigi Rodriguez extended his team-best hitting streak to nine games in a row, while Mike Papi has now hit safely in six consecutive contests. Rodriguez is hitting an even .400 through the team’s first 15 games of the season.
Lynchburg will try to even the series against Potomac Saturday at 6:35 p.m. Mike Rayl (0-1, 4.50) will square off with Dakota Bacus (0-0, 2.57). The game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 93.3/1320 AM and www.lynchburg-hillcats.com, beginning with the Hillcats On-Deck Show at 6:10 p.m.
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Chris Graham
