For the second game in a row, the Lynchburg Hillcats fell behind early against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers and failed to come back, falling on Sunday by a 6-2 final.
The Hillcats (24-24) fall to third place in the Carolina League Northern Division with the loss to Fayetteville (23-27).
Adam Scott (Loss, 2-5) came out of the gates strong for the Hillcats, ripping through the first six Fayetteville batters while striking out four. But he ran into some trouble in the third inning. Marty Costes reached with a leadoff single in his first career Carolina League at-bat, and Michael Papierski walked to put runners on first and second. Jacob Meyers then roped a two-run double to score Costes and Papierski. Jonathan Arauz followed him up with a double of his own, plating Meyers to give Fayetteville a 3-0 lead.
Lynchburg put together a rally of its own in the fourth inning. A Nolan Jones walk, an Oscar Gonzalez single, and a Gavin Collins walk loaded the bases with nobody out. Jodd Carter smoked a line drive off the left field wall, scoring Jones on an RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-1, leaving the bases still loaded with nobody out. Jose Vicente grounded into a double play and Jonathan Laureano struck out to allow the Woodpeckers to escape the jam with their two-run lead intact.
The Woodpeckers added onto their lead in the fifth inning. A single by Meyers was followed up by a two-run blast by Arauz to push the Fayetteville lead to 5-1. Another run came in the sixth for Fayetteville when Costes’ RBI single scored Jake Adams.
Down 6-1 and looking for a late rally, the Hillcats got something going in the eighth inning. Wilbis Santiago got on board with a one-out single. Jones followed him up with an RBI double to cut the lead to 6-2, but the Hillcats couldn’t get anything more against the Woodpeckers bullpen.
Scott allowed five earned runs on six hits across five innings while drawing the loss against Fayetteville. Nick Gallagher fired three innings of one-run baseball in relief, walking four while striking out two batters. Jared Robinson tossed a clean ninth inning for the Hillcats.
Shawn Dubin (Win, 1-3) allowed one earned run on four hits while striking out four batters in the start for Fayetteville. Brett Conine was tagged with one unearned run on one hit in three innings of relief, and Tanner Duncan fired a scoreless ninth inning to shut down Lynchburg.
The Hillcats will look for the series split against the Woodpeckers on Monday. Nivaldo Rodriguez (0-1, 2.16) will take the mound for Fayetteville in his second Carolina League start. The Hillcats will send Juan Hillman (2-4, 2.61) to face Fayetteville as he looks to continue his scoreless innings streak, currently at 20.2 frames. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
Max Gun and Anders Jorstad will be on the air at 6:20 p.m. with the Hillcats pre-game show on TuneIn Radio and the Radio434 App.
Monday’s series finale will take place on Memorial Day, and all military veterans will be admitted into the gates for free at City Stadium.
For tickets or more information, visit lynchburg-hillcats.com, call 434-528-1144, or visit the City Stadium box office.
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Chris Graham
