Lynchburg Hillcats drop series opener at Carolina, 10-3

Daniel Carroll hit his second home run in only 12 at-bats since joining Lynchburg, but Carolina used three home runs of its own to coast to a 10-3 victory over the Hillcats Monday evening at Calvin Falwell Field.

The Mudcats (14-13) hit two homers in the second inning to take a commanding 5-0 advantage and led the Hillcats (12-16) the rest of the way. Jeremy Lucas hit a solo home run to open the scoring, and Luigi Rodriguez capped the barrage with a three-run homer to right.

Daniel Carroll added his name to list of players sending a ball over the fence in the sixth inning. With the Hillcats down 7-1, Carroll drilled a pitch to left field for his second home run of the season. The outfielder now has seven RBIs in only five games since joining the squad. Josh Elander scored on the blast after leading off the frame with a walk.

Lynchburg’s lone other run came in the second inning. The Hillcats started to build a rally after a single by Tyler Tewell to lead things off. Edison Sanchez was hit by a pitch, and Levi Hyams walked to load the bases. A run scored on a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Daniel Castro, but the momentum stopped there, and Lynchburg trailed 5-1 after two stanzas.

Carolina added a pair in the sixth after a base hit by Anthony Gallas and a double by Jerrod Sabourin began the inning. James Roberts drove in his second run of the game on his second sacrifice fly to right, and Sabourin scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-1.

Following a run in the seventh, Jeremy Lucas put an exclamation point on the Mudcats’ evening with a deep fly ball well beyond the left field wall for his second homer of the contest. The two-run shot plated Logan Vick and established the final score of 10-3.

Jarett Miller (0-3) took the loss after allowing seven runs on five hits and four walks in 5.0 innings. Michael Peoples (1-2) earned the victory with 5.1 innings of holding Lynchburg to three runs and four hits.

Lynchburg will face Carolina again Tuesday at 6:05pm. Wes Parsons (1-1, 4.12) will take the mound for the Hillcats against lefty Ryan Merritt (4-0, 1.19). Gates open at 5pm for Two for Tuesday. Fans who buy a general admission ticket will receive another one for free. The game will be broadcast on 97.9 the Planet beginning with the Hillcats On-Deck Show presented by Amtrak Virginia at 5:40pm.