Lynchburg rally falls short in Myrtle Beach

Lynchburg faced a 6-0 deficit after four innings and clawed its way back to trail by two with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, but a strikeout ended the game with the Hillcats falling to Myrtle Beach, 6-4, at TicketReturn.com Field Saturday night.

Myrtle Beach saw five of its first seven batters reach, including a two-run homer by Jeffrey Baez, to score four runs on four hits in the first inning. Gleyber Torres began the burst with a triple to right-center field. The Pelicans added two more on three hits in the fourth, capped off by a two-out single by Rashad Crawford, to take a 6-0 lead.

Sean Brady (2-3) allowed six runs, five earned, on seven hits in five innings to take the loss. He struck out three and walked two.Jake Stinnett (4-0) went six innings and surrendered three runs on four hits to earn the win. Stinnett struck out six but walked five in the game. Jose Rosario notched his fifth save of the season by tossing the final 1 2/3 innings without allowing a run.

Lynchburg began chipping away at the six-run margin in the fifth inning when David Armendariz lined a double to left and scored on a double play ball two batters later.

In the sixth inning, Yu-Cheng Chang opened the frame with a walk, and Bobby Bradley hit his league-leading 10th home run of the year to bring Lynchburg within three, 6-3. Bradley also increased his Carolina League-best RBI total to 40 for the season. Lynchburg tallied its final run in the eighth when Chang singled, advanced to third on a Bradley double, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Paul Hendrix.

With two outs and an 0-2 count, Greg Allen started a ninth-inning rally with a line drive to right. Claudio Bautista fell behind in the count, 1-2, but battled his way back to earn a walk. Chang also faced the Hillcats’ last strike with a 3-2 count but earned a walk to load the bases. However, Rosario struck out Bradley to end the game.

Bobby Bradley’s home run marked his eighth on the road and his eighth in the fifth inning or later…Lynchburg has hit 25 of its league-topping 35 home runs away from City Stadium…Lynchburg has homered in three straight games…Greg Allen stole his 23rd base of the season, which ranks fifth in all of Minor League Baseball.

Lynchburg plays Myrtle Beach again Sunday night at 5:05 p.m. Justus Sheffield (3-1, 2.76) will start for the Hillcats. Fans can listen to the action on 93.3 FM and 1320 AM as well as www.lynchburg-hillcats.com, beginning with the Hillcats On-Deck Show at4:45 p.m.