Luigi Rodriguez and Nellie Rodriguez each hit a solo home run in the first inning of the initial contest to jumpstart a day that saw the Hillcats defeat Winston-Salem in a doubleheader Friday night at City Stadium, 7-2 and 3-1.
After Dace Kime blanked Winston-Salem in the top of the first, Luigi Rodriguez drove the first pitch he saw over the center field fence to lead off the first inning, giving Lynchburg an instant 1-0 lead. The solo homer moved Rodriguez into a tie with teammate Bradley Zimmer for the league lead with nine home runs.
Three batters later, Nellie Rodriguez hit a towering fly ball over the left field wall for his seventh homer of the season. Rodriguez increased his league-best RBI total to 38 for the year.
Winston-Salem plated a run in the second on a sacrifice fly by T.J. Williams and added an unearned run in the fifth to tie the game, 2-2, but Lynchburg broke it open in the bottom of the sixth with a five-run frame.
Zimmer started the barrage with a triple to left-center field, which began a streak of six consecutive Hillcats reaching base. Paul Hendrix gave the Hillcats the lead with an RBI double, and Alex Monsalve followed with a two-run double to make it 5-2 in favor of Lynchburg. Two batters later, James Roberts smacked his own two-run double to give the Hillcats a 7-2 margin.
Ben Heller tossed a scoreless ninth to complete the five-run win. Robbie Aviles (4-1) earned the victory by holding Winston-Salem to one unearned run in two innings of relief after Kime pitched the first four frames. Matt Heidenreich (7-1) suffered his first loss of the year after entering the contest with a sparkling 1.78 ERA.
In the second contest, Antonio Romero (1-0) made his first start of the year and went five innings without allowing an earned run. He limited the Dash to two hits while striking out three. Romero easily surpassed his previous career-long outing, which was 2 2/3 innings at Carolina on May 7. Delvy Francisco and J.P. Feyereisen each struck out a pair in scoreless frames. Feyereisen earned his first save at the Advanced-A level by preserving a 3-1 victory.
Clint Frazier lined an RBI double into left field in the first inning to drive home Luigi Rodriguez, tying the game at 1-all after Winston-Salem notched an unearned run in the top of the stanza. The go-ahead run came across in the first inning on a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Hendrix, and the Hillcats led 2-1 at that point. Lynchburg’s final tally came in the fifth on an RBI fielder’s choice by Frazier to bring home Joe Sever, who reached on a walk earlier in the frame.
Lynchburg swept a twinbill for the second time this season after also doing so at Potomac on April 26…The Hillcats have played a league-high six doubleheaders this season and are now 5-7 in seven-inning affairs…Lynchburg added to its Carolina League-best home run total…The Hillcats now have 41 homers this year…
Lynchburg looks to make it three straight against the Dash Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Michael Peoples (3-3, 7.34) will start for the Hillcats against James Dykstra (3-2, 2.70). It’s a Fireworks Night presented by Central Virginia Imaging. Fans can tune in to the action on ESPN Virginia 93.3 FM and 1320 AM as well as www.lynchburg-hillcats.com beginning at 6:10 p.m. for the Hillcats On-Deck Show.
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Chris Graham
