After not having a baserunner in the first three innings, Lynchburg’s offense erupted for a four-run fourth inning, and the Hillcats held on for a couple dramatic stretches in the final few innings to claim a 5-4 victory at TicketReturn.com Field Saturday night.
Jeremy Null began the game with three perfect innings, striking out three his first time through the Hillcats lineup. Lynchburg changed that in a hurry the second time through the nine. Mark Mathias broke up the perfect game with a walk, and Tyler Krieger was hit by a pitch. Two batters later, Bobby Bradley hit a two-run double over the center fielder’s head to give the ‘Cats a 2-1 lead. Dorssys Paulinofollowed with a two-run homer to left, staking Lynchburg to a 4-1 advantage.
Matt Esparza (2-2) earned his second straight win on the mound, going six innings and only allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out five and only walked a pair. Both runs against him occurred when David Bote scored twice on two separate wild pitches. Matt Whitehouseand Mitch Brown each received holds for their efforts out of the bullpen. Trevor Frank picked up his seventh save in the month of August and his organization-leading 16th save of the year with a scoreless ninth in a 5-4 game.
Lynchburg tallied an insurance run in the seventh when Connor Marabell singled home Sicnarf Loopstok, who bunted his way on base to begin the stanza. The Hillcats owned a 5-2 lead at that point.
The insurance run proved valuable, as Myrtle Beach plated two, including an unearned run, against Matt Whitehouse in the home half of the seventh inning. The Pelicans had the potential tying run at third and the possible go-ahead run at second with one out. Whitehousewas able to strike out Bryant Flete to end the inning with the ‘Cats still leading, 5-4.
Myrtle Beach put runners on the corners with two outs in the eighth, but Mitch Brown struck out Charcer Burks swinging to escape the eighth. A dropped pop fly in the ninth allowed Myrtle Beach to once again put the possible tying run at third base in the ninth.
With only one out and runners on the corners, Trevor Frank recorded a strikeout and flyout to close the game. Frank has not surrendered a run in the month of August. He has made eight appearances and struck out 11 in eight innings while posting seven saves during that time.
With a Potomac loss, Lynchburg moved into sole possession of first place in the second-half Northern Division standings…The Hillcats hold a one game lead with 14 games remaining in the regular season…Lynchburg improved to 16-16 in one-run games.
Lynchburg closes out its three-game series at Myrtle Beach Sunday at 6:05 p.m. Luis Lugo (8-3, 3.74) 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 5:45 p.m.
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