Lynchburg couldn’t halt its skid Wednesday night, as the Hillcats dropped both ends of a doubleheader against Potomac to move its losing streak to seven games.
Lynchburg (62-66) lost by an 8-1 score in the first game and was shut out in the nightcap, 3-0. The Hillcats fell to 7-12 this season against the Nationals (70-53).
In the first contest, Potomac used a pair of home runs to break the game open. Randolph Oduber hit a two-run homer in the first inning for his sixth of the season. Isaac Ballou followed with a three-run homer in the second to give the Nationals a 5-0 advantage. Potomac added a run in each of the fourth and sixth frames on RBI doubles by Pedro Severino and Brandon Miller. The Nationals tacked on their final run in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk by Khayyan Norfork to bring home Tony Renda.
Lynchburg only posted three hits in the twinbill opener, but two of them came in the seventh inning to generate a run. Justin Bloxom hit a leadoff double, and Will Skinner doubled him home for his 50th RBI of the year. Kevin Ahrens hit his league-leading 37th double earlier in the contest in the second inning.
Wes Parsons (4-6) suffered the loss in the first game after allowing six runs on seven hits. Dakota Bacus (5-6) only surrendered one run and three hits in 6.1 innings, and Cody Davis recorded the final two outs for the Nationals.
In the doubleheader finale, Potomac plated an unearned run in the first inning after Renda reached on a throwing error by Ahrens and scored on a double by Shawn Pleffner. The Nationals added one in the second thanks to an RBI double by Craig Manuel. Potomac’s final run was unearned when Norfork walked and advanced to second on a pickoff error by Lucas Sims. Miller hit a double to right field, and the Nationals led 3-0 the rest of the way.
Sims (7-10) took the loss despite his eighth consecutive quality start. He has a 1-3 record during that span. The right-hander allowed three runs on six hits, though only one run was earned, in six innings. He struck out five while walking one. Pedro Encarnacion (3-4) tossed three innings out of the bullpen for the victory. Fresh off the disabled list, Alex Wilson pitched a scoreless seventh for Lynchburg.
The Hillcats only registered four hits in the second game, three of which came from Jose Martinez. The left fielder went 3-for-3 with a double to improve his batting average to .329.
Lynchburg and Potomac meet for the final time in the regular season Thursday night at 6:05pm. Jarett Miller (8-8, 3.90) will face Brian Rauh (2-2, 4.00). Gates open at 5pm for Virginia Tech Night as well as Outdoors Night presented by Hunters for the Hungry. The Hillcats On-Deck Show presented by Amtrak Virginia will take the air at 5:40pm on 97.9 The Planet.
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Chris Graham
