Lynchburg drops series opener

Lynchburg dropped the series opener to Wilmington Monday at Calvin Falwell Field, 6-2. The Hillcats tallied eight hits and attempted to mount a rally, but left 13 on base and came up short. Taylor Murphy hit a solo shot to lead off the sixth for his eighth home run of the season.

After scoring 38 runs in a five-game series against Carolina, the Hillcats were held to just two runs. Wilmington starter Zach Lovvorn earned his second win of the season by going five innings and scattering four hits. Taylor Murphy delivered a homer in the sixth to help knock Lovvorn out of the game, but Lynchburg still trailed 3-1 at that point. Lynchburg stranded nine base runners in the final four innings.

The Hillcats did add a run in the eighth after Yu-Cheng Chang singled and came around to score on a Paul Hendrix single through the right side, making the count 4-2. The ‘Cats offense left the bases loaded in the eighth.

Wilmington put together runs in five separate innings. Three runs in the final two innings were enough of a cushion to earn the victory. Colton Frabasilio led off the eighth with a double and scored after two sacrifice bunts. The Blue Rocks tacked on two more in the ninth. Elier Hernandez doubled and scored after a strikeout and wild pitch. Samir Duenez singled and scored on aLuis Villegas double to give the Blue Rocks a 6-2 advantage.  

Justus Sheffield went six innings in his second start in a row against Wilmington. The southpaw struck out six and allowed eight hits during his outing. Justin Garcia pitched two innings while striking out two and allowing a run. Mitch Brown finished out the game for the ‘Cats and allowed two earned runs.

Francisco Mejia extended his hit streak 38 games after an infield single in the second inning…Lynchburg had won six of its last seven series openers heading into the game…The Hillcats have 96 homers, two away from last year’s league-leading total…Lynchburg is on pace for 134 home runs, which would be a team record.

Lynchburg and Wilmington square off for the second game of the series Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Carolina League Pitcher of the Week Thomas Pannone (2-0, 0.73) will start for the Hillcats against Corey Ray (6-3, 3.97). Fans can listen to the action on 93.3 FM and 1320 AM as well as www.lynchburg-hillcats.com, beginning with the Hillcats On-Deck Show at 6:15 p.m.