Eric Haase tied a Carolina League record with three triples, and Clint Frazier homered twice to give Lynchburg an 8-2 victory over the Frederick Keys on Tuesday night at City Stadium. Mitch Horacek, who entered the game 5-0 against the Hillcats this season, earned the loss.
EARNING ONE THE HARD WAY
In the bottom of the first inning, LeVon Washington was hit by a pitch to start the game and stole second base to advance into scoring position. He advanced to third on an infield single by Yhoxian Medina before Clint Frazier grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Washington to give the Hillcats a 1-0 lead.
STEADILY BUILDING A LEAD
Lynchburg cranked out a run in four straight innings from the fourth through the seventh to build onto its lead. In the bottom of the fourth, Clint Frazier blasted a solo home run over the left-centerfield wall to extend the lead to 2-0.
AUDIO: Frazier home run in fourth
Eric Haase led off the fifth with a triple and came home to score on a RBI single by Mike Papi that gave the Hillcats a 3-0 advantage. Frazier homered for the second time in the bottom of the sixth to mark his third multi-home run game of his career and put the Hillcats ahead 4-0. Haase tripled once again to lead off the seventh and scored on a RBI single by Paul Hendrix that gave the Hillcats a 5-0 lead through seven.
AUDIO: Frazier home run in sixth
BACK IN THE ZONE
Michael Peoples (9-3) made his first start since July 31 after making two piggyback relief appearances behind Rob Kaminskyand continued his second half dominance. Peoples tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed six hits while walking three and striking out six to earn his ninth win of the season.
Frederick plated two runs in the top of the eighth to cut into the Hillcats lead. Tad Gold led off the frame with a single off Robbie Aviles and came around to score on a RBI single by Yaisel Mederos that brought the Keys within four, 5-1. Mederos stole second base and scored on a RBI single by Adrian Marin to make it 5-2.
PUT THE KEYS AWAY
In the bottom of the eighth, Clint Frazier singled and Joe Sever doubled to give the Hillcats runners at second and third with one out. Frederick opted to intentionally walk Dorssys Paulino, who was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, to load the bases for Eric Haase. Haase came within a foot of a grand slam, but settled for a bases-clearing triple, his third three-bagger of the night, to put the Hillcats up 8-2.
KEEPING UP WITH THE CATS
Eric Haase went 3-for-4 at the plate with a trio of triples…Haase became the fourth player to hit three triples in a game in Carolina League history and the first since Chone Figgins recorded three triples on June 7, 2000…Clint Frazier blasted a pair of home runs in a single game for the third time of his career and the second time this season…Frazier also recorded a multi-home run game against Frederick when he roped two on the road at Harry Grove Stadium May 30.
UP NEXT
Lynchburg looks to extend its three-game lead in the Northern Division against the Frederick Keys on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. Fans can tune in to the action on ESPN Virginia 93.3 FM and 1320 AM as well aswww.lynchburg-hillcats.com beginning at 6:10 p.m. for the Hillcats On-Deck Show.
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Chris Graham
