Lynchburg loaded the bases with nobody out in the eighth inning, but Carolina held the Hillcats to one run in the frame to claim a 4-1 victory in the series opener. The Mudcats (13-10) have now won six in a row, while Lynchburg (9-16) has dropped six straight.
Six different Hillcats had a hit in the game, and Joe Sever went 2-for-4, including a base hit to lead off the eighth. Ivan Castillofollowed with a single, and Clint Frazier walked to load the bases. Nellie Rodriguez notched his 17th RBI of the season on a fielder’s choice, but that marked the lone run for the Hillcats.
Carolina scored three in the fifth and another in the sixth to take control of the contest. Five consecutive hits fueled the Mudcats’ rally in the fifth. Jose Briceno and Levi Hyams hit back-to-back singles. Connor Lien doubled to left field to score one. The next batter, Johan Camargo, doubled in the next two runs. Carolina held a three-run advantage at the end of the fifth.
An unearned run in the sixth made it 4-0 in favor of Carolina. Carlos Franco reached on an error by Castillo and eventually scored on an RBI double by Lien. Lien finished the contest 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs.
Andrew Thurman (3-2) tossed five scoreless innings to earn the win. Mauricio Cabrera earned a hold with two shutout innings, and Andy Otero received his first save of the season after striking out two in the ninth. Mitch Brown (1-3) took the loss after surrendering four runs in 5.1 innings with five strikeouts.
Lynchburg plays a doubleheader Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. Lefty Mike Rayl (0-1, 6.00) starts for the Hillcats in game one, andD.J. Brown (2-1, 3.80) takes the mound in game two. The Hillcats On-Deck Show begins at 10:50 a.m. on ESPN Radio 93.3 FM/1320 AM and www.lynchburg-hillcats.com.
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Chris Graham
