Jayson Aquino carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning and pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings to pace the Hillcats to a 2-0 shutout win over the Carolina Mudcats on Saturday night at Five County Stadium.
GETTING SOME EARLY RUN SUPPORT
Mudcats pitcher Yean Carlos Gil retired the first seven batters he faced before Bobby Ison tripled to center field. Ivan Castillosingled to left in the very next at-bat to give the Hillcats a 1-0 lead. Castillo advanced to third on a double by LeVon Washington and scored on a wild pitch to give the Hillcats a 2-0 advantage.
ALMOST AQUI-NO-NO
Hillcats pitcher Jayson Aquino retired the first four batters he faced before surrendering a walk to Carlos Franco in the second inning. Joey Meneses grounded into a double play to shortstop that ended the inning. Aquino pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings and faced the minimum until the eighth inning. Franco broke up the no-no with a one-out single in the eighth, the first of three straight hits by the Mudcats in frame. However, Jose Briceno grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the inning and keep the shutout intact. Aquino retired the first two batters in the ninth before he conceded a single to Conner Lienand was replaced by Robbie Aviles, who forced Dustin Peterson to ground out to third to end the game.
Aquino surrendered just four hits and struck out three batters to earn his first win as a Hillcat. Aquino has gone nine innings five times in his career, but came just one out shy of the first complete-game shutout by a Hillcat in a nine-inning game since July 13, 2012 when Cody Martin tossed a two-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Salem.
KEEPING UP WITH THE CATS
Robbie Aviles pitched to just one batter but got the out to seal the 2-0 victory and earn his third save of the season…With just 1/3 of an inning pitched, the Hillcats bullpen extends its scoreless innings streak to 27 1/3 innings…With the win, the Hillcats have reached 70 wins for the first time since the 2012 season when the team won the Carolina League championship…With the victory and a Frederick loss to Winston-Salem, the Hillcats magic number drops to one with eight games to play…With a win or a Frederick loss on Sunday, the Hillcats will clinch a playoff berth for the fourth straight season, marking the first time the team has made four straight playoff appearances since the franchise clinched four in a row from 1982 to 1985 as a Mets affiliate
UP NEXT
Lynchburg looks to clinch a playoff berth with a win against the Carolina Mudcats on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. 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 1:40 p.m. for the Hillcats On-Deck Show.
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Chris Graham
