After Potomac used a late rally to take a 4-3 victory in nine innings to begin a doubleheader, Lynchburg held on with three consecutive highlight-reel defensive plays to seal a 3-2 win in the nightcap.
Potomac jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second game, but a two-out rally in the third gave the ‘Cats the lead the rest of the way.Yonathan Mendoza drew a four-pitch walk with two outs to extend the frame for Willi Castro, who doubled down the left field line to tie the game, 1-1. Jodd Carter hit a slicing ball down the right field line for a triple, which staked Lynchburg to a 2-1 advantage.
The Hillcats’ final run came in the fifth when Ka’ai Tom doubled, advanced to third on an error, and came home on an RBI groundout off the bat of Sicnarf Loopstok. The play gave Loopstok his team-leading 21st RBI of the season, and it pushed the Hillcats lead to 3-1.
Potomac threatened in the sixth when three errors opened the door. The Nationals cut the margin to 3-2 and loaded the bases with only one out, but Argenis Angulo was able to induce a 6-4-3 double play to end the stanza with the ‘Cats still on top. In the seventh, stellar defense preserved the win. Andrew Calica made a diving catch in right field, and Mendoza made a sliding grab in foul territory for the second out. Castro capped it off with a diving backhanded stop deep in the shortstop hole and a strong throw to get Jack Sundberg for the final out.
Angulo (2-1) earned the win with three innings out of the bullpen after Dominic DeMasi went the first four innings and held Potomac to one run on just one hit while striking out five. Grant Borne (0-1) had not allowed a run in 10 1/3 innings entering Sunday, but Lynchburg plated two runs on four hits against him to hand him the loss.
In the first game, the Hillcats were unable to extend their five-game winning streak when Potomac scored three runs in the seventh to erase a 3-0 Lynchburg lead, force extra innings, and eventually win by a 4-3 score. Triston McKenzie left the mound just two outs short of a complete game after walking a pair of batters. The Nationals then used the combination of an Ian Sagdal two-run double, two hit batsmen and a walk to tie the contest. Victor Robles was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring home the tying run.
In the ninth, Taylor Gushue singled to left to drive in Bryan Mejia for what became the winning run. Ronald Pena (2-1) allowed just two hits over three innings for the victory. Billy Strode (0-3) was handed his third loss of the season, allowing a run on two hits over 2.2 innings.
All of the Hillcats runs in the first game occurred in the third inning. Tom singled to right in the third, which scored Daniel Salters. Loopstok tripled to the left field corner to knock in both Claudio Bautista and Tom. Lynchburg led 3-0 at that point, but Potomac came back to tie the game in the final inning for the second straight contest.
Lynchburg wraps up its five-game, four-day series against Potomac Monday at 6:30 p.m. It’s another #MeowMonday at City Stadium, so fans can receive $3 off admission with a pet food donation. Plus, the first 300 fans will receive a team photo giveaway. Fans can listen to the game live at www.lynchburg-hillcats.com with pre-game coverage beginning at 6:20 p.m.
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Chris Graham
