Lynchburg was shut out by Trevor Clifton and company in Game Three of the Mills Cup Championship Series at City Stadium. The Hillcats are now down 2-1 in the best-of-five final round after the 7-0 defeat.
The Pelicans wasted no time getting on the board after a Charcer Burks leadoff double in the first. David Bote followed with a double off the centerfield wall to make the count 1-0. Myrtle Beach tacked on a run in the third after Burks used a sacrifice fly to drive in Bryant Flete, who reached on a triple. Hillcats starter Luis Lugo was chased from the contest in the sixth stanza.
Jared Robinson entered a 2-0 contest with two runners on base and two outs. A wild pitch and an errant throw in an attempt to get the runner allowed two more Pelicans to come home. Jeffrey Baez capped the inning with a RBI double to put the Pelicans up 5-0. The Pelicans tallied two more runs in the next inning to make the final count 7-0.
Lynchburg’s offense only recorded five hits in the game, as they were shutout for the fifth time this season, including four in the past 13 outings. The ‘Cats were 0-5 with men in scoring position and left seven baserunners stranded.
Carolina League Pitcher of the Year Trevor Clifton dominated and improved his postseason totals to 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA. He struck out five batters while only allowing three hits and no walks. Luis Lugo allowed seven hits and four runs, but he did manage to strike out six batters.Jon Fitzsimmons turned in a solid appearance as he struck out two in 1 1/3 innings. Justin Garcia pitched a perfect ninth frame to keep his postseason ERA at 0.00 over three appearances.
Lynchburg is now 63-64 in all-time postseason play…The Hillcats are 13-11 in Mills Cup Championship games…Lynchburg is 2-0 in elimination games in 2016.
Lynchburg plays Game Four Wednesday night at Calvin Falwell Field at 6:30 p.m. Matt Esparza (0-1, 8.10) will be on the mound in the must-win game against Preston Morrison (0-1, 9.64). Fans can listen to Wednesday’s action on 93.3 FM and 1320 AM as well as www.lynchburg-hillcats.com, beginning with the Hillcats On-Deck Show at 6:15 p.m.
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