Lynchburg Hillcats drop series opener to Keys, 14-4

Complete Highlights (Audio)

A three-run first, six-run fifth, and five-run seventh paved the way for the Frederick Keys blowout win on Friday night. Bradley Zimmer hit his league-best eighth home run and Joe Sever collected two RBIs for the Hillcats.

Frederick put themselves ahead right out of gate with three in the first. Brenden Webb knocked in two with a single off the glove of Nellie Rodriguez. Adrian Marin followed with a groundout that scored one more and the Keys led 3-0.

Trailing 3-0 in the fourth, Bradley Zimmer hit his Carolina League-leading eighth home run of the season. Zimmer took a pitch down and in and blasted it over the right field wall.

The Keys put the game out of reach with six runs in the fifth. Jeff Kemp started the scoring with a three-run homer, Brenden Webb doubled home a run, and Adrian Marin and Austin Wynns chipped in RBI singles. The big inning made it 9-1.

Frederick was far from finished, as they scored five more in the seventh to push the lead to 14-1. Four straight doubles from Trey Mancini, Brenden Webb, Adrian Marin, and Austin Wynns all produced runs and Gregory Lorenzo plated another with a groundout.

Trailing by 13 runs in the seventh, Lynchburg scored twice thanks to a two-run double by Joe Sever to make it 14-3.

The ‘Cats scratched one more across in the ninth on an RBI double from Nellie Rodriguez, but the night ended with a 14-4 loss.

Game Notes: The 10-run loss tied the largest margin of defeat for the Hillcats this season. They lost by 10 in Carolina on May 7… The loss snapped the Hillcats season-high four-game winning streak… All eight of Bradley Zimmer’s home runs have been with the bases empty… Hillcats fell to 7-5 against lefties this season and will face a left-hander tomorrow in Chris Lee.

Game two of the series is Saturday at 6:30 p.m. It will be the ninth annual Breast Cancer Awareness Night and T-Shirt Giveaway presented by Centra. The Hillcats will be wearing special pink uniforms that will be auctioned off after the game. Fans that can’t make it out to the ballpark can tune into the action on ESPN Radio Virginia 93.3 FM and 1320 AM. The Hillcats On-Deck Show begins at 6:10 p.m.