Chris Masters took a no-hitter into the sixth inning Saturday night for the second time this season. Yem Prades broke up the no-no and the shutout with an RBI single that inning. Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Stovall delivered the final blow grounding one under the glove of shortstop Andrelton Simmons which allowed Nick Van Stratten to score from third and the Blue Rocks won 3-2.
Masters and Wimington’s starter Justin Marks exchanged zeroes on the scoreboard through the first five and a half innings.
The Blue Rocks struck first in the bottom of the sixth inning. After Prades broke up the no-hitter and the shutout, Van Stratten singled in another run putting Wilmington up 2-0.
Marks came out in the seventh inning with the lead for the first time. He retired the first batter; making 18 consecutive Hillcats sat down since giving up a double to Simmons in the first inning. He then walked Phil Gosselin on a borderline outside fastball with a full count. Joey Terdoslavich and Joe Leonard followed the walk with back-to-back singles, Gosselin scoring on the latter. Then Christian Bethancourt hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game 2-2.
All tied heading into the bottom of the ninth, Cardenas entered the game for the Hillcats. He hadn’t allowed a run in 14 innings, but found himself in trouble right away. Van Stratten singled to lead off the inning. John Whittleman then ripped an inside fastball to right, moving Van Stratten to third base with nobody out. With the infield drawn in to cut down the game-winning run, Ryan Stovall hit a ground ball to the left of shortstop Andrelton Simmons. Simmons never got his glove down far enough and let the ball roll into to center field. The Blue Rocks won 3-2.
Bryan Paukovitz (2-2) earned the win in relief of Marks, tossing the final two outs of the eighth, through the ninth inning. Cardenas (3-2) took the loss allowing an unearned run in the final frame.
The Hillcats fall to 20-28 with the loss and now trail in the series 2-1. Their consecutive winning series streak will stop at four, but they will have a chance to split when the two teams meet one last time Sunday at 1:35 pm.
RHP Gary Moran (1-0) will start for Lynchburg against RHP Tim Melville (8-7) for Wilmington. Listen live to all the action starting with the Hillcats On-Deck Show powered by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg on 105.5 KD Country and online at lynchburg-hillcats.com
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Chris Graham
