The Lynchburg Hillcats pulled out a miracle to keep their playoff hopes alive with a late-inning victory over the Down East Wood Ducks, 4-3.
The Hillcats (33-30) scored three runs in the eighth inning to take the lead over Down East (30-33) and they never looked back.
Tensions were high all game, with points of boiling over as players understood the magnitude of the moment. Both teams came into today trailing in the Carolina League North knowing they would need a victory to stay afloat.
The Wood Ducks threatened several times in the first few innings but could not scratch anything across. In the fourth, they finally broke the scoreboard on a single from Yenci Peña that scored Efrenyer Narvaez.
The Wood Ducks would not hold that lead for long as the Hillcats would score one of their own in the bottom half of the fourth when Junior Sanquintin slapped an RBI single to left that scored Jorge Burgos from second.
The game remained tied until the seventh inning when Reny Artiles would come to the mound and surrender two runs on a single from Xavier Valentin that dropped just in front of Isaiah Greene. The throw home was not in time as the Wood Ducks would take the 3-1 lead.
The Hillcats would be held scoreless themselves until the bottom of the eighth inning when they finally picked up the clutch late-inning hit that had eluded them all week. Two batters were hit to lead off the inning, and one player reached on an error to load up the bases. Then, Burgos roped a line drive double down the right field line and into the corner that cleared the bases and gave the Hillcats their first lead of the night.
Tyler Thornton would come on in the ninth and pick up three strikeouts to close out the ballgame and keep the Hillcats playoff hopes alive.
Lynchburg currently sits a game back of first place in the division, with three games left before the midseason mark. The Hillcats travel to Delmarva for a six-game series with the Shorebirds beginning on Tuesday.
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Chris Graham
