For the second time in three nights, Lynchburg split a doubleheader against Frederick, winning the first contest 7-4, but dropping the finale, 6-5, at Nymeo Field Thursday night. Bobby Bradley and Anthony Santander each had home runs during the twin bill.
Lynchburg never trailed in the initial contest of the day, although Frederick did tie the game, 4-4, in the fifth inning. The Hillcats used a three-run sixth inning to take the lead and hold on for a 7-4 victory. Dorssys Paulino, Taylor Murphy and Yonathan Mendoza hit three consecutive singles, and all came around to score to be the difference on the scoreboard. Mendoza’s single drove in Paulino, and two batters later, Mark Mathias brought in the other two with a single to center field to give the Hillcats a three-run cushion.
Earlier, Lynchburg jumped out to a 2-0 lead against T.J. McFarland, the four-year Major League pitcher for Baltimore who made his second rehab appearance against the ‘Cats. Much like the first matchup Tuesday, Lynchburg roughed up McFarland. Francisco Mejia hit a double to right field, Anthony Santander singled, and Bobby Bradley walked to load the bases. With one out, Tyler Krieger doubled to right, plating two in the process.
The Hillcats’ other two runs came courtesy of Bradley’s league-leading 26th home run of the year, an opposite field fly ball that barely stayed inside the foul pole. Bradley also tops the circuit with 93 RBIs. The left-handed slugger has led his league in both home runs and RBIs every year as a professional.
Lynchburg raced to a 3-0 lead in the first, but Frederick scored six unanswered runs in the middle innings and held on for a 6-5 victory in the nightcap.
Tyler Krieger walked, and Anthony Santander drilled a ball to left for his 20th home run of the season to give Lynchburg a 2-0 advantage in the opening stanza. Sicnarf Loopstok added an RBI double to drive in Dorssys Paulino, who reached on an error in the frame.
Trailing 3-0, Frederick scored in four straight innings from the third through the sixth to take a 6-3 lead. Conor Bierfeldt hit a two-run homer in the third to put the Keys on the board. Bierfeldt doubled in the fifth to begin another two-run frame. The right fielder finished 2-2 with two walks, two RBIs and two runs scored. Erick Salcedo drove in a run in the fourth and scored in the sixth to contribute to the other two Frederick runs.
Down 6-3 in the seventh, Krieger doubled to lead off and scored on an RBI groundout by Bradley. Paulino reached on an error and came home on a two-out single by Murphy. That cut the deficit to 6-5, but the next batter grounded out to end the game.
Lynchburg is still a league-best 11-5 (.688) in doubleheaders…The Hillcats lead the league with 118 home runs, which is on pace for a team-record 133 this season…The ‘Cats have hit a home run in 75 of their 124 games this year, including seven consecutive.
Lynchburg travels to Myrtle Beach to begin a three-game series Friday at 7:05 p.m. Thomas Pannone (2-0, 2.14) will start for the Hillcats. 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 6:45 p.m.
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Chris Graham
