Paulino homer not enough in 4-1 Lynchburg loss

Potomac edged Lynchburg in the series opener between the top two teams in the second-half Northern Division standings, 4-1. Dorssys Paulino was responsible for the lone Hillcats run of the game with a seventh inning solo home run.

Boone Whiting improved to 4-0 in five starts against the Hillcats this season with tonight’s win. The 27-year-old pitched 6 1/3 innings while scattering six hits. The only damage against Whiting was the home run by Dorssys Paulino. Ryan Brinley recorded a five-out save to seal the win for Potomac.

Matt Esparza was knocked out after allowing four runs in four innings. The first run of the contest came across in the second after a leadoff single by Osvaldo Abreu. Matthew Page and Abreu executed a hit-and-run to put runners on the corners. A groundout by Dale Carey scoredAbreu to give the Nats a 1-0 lead. Three more runs came across in the third stanza, two by a homer off the bat of Abreu.

The Hillcats offense struggled to get runs across as they were 1-8 with runners in scoring position. Dorssys Paulino increased his hitting streak to six games with the home run. He is 5-8 with three extra-base hits and four RBIs in the last two nights. Anthony Santander recorded his second consecutive multi-hit game as he went 2-3 with a double. Connor Marabell was the only other Hillcat to tally multiple hits.

The Hillcats fell to 24-14 in series openers after winning six of their last seven series openers…Lynchburg now sits one game ahead the Nationals in the second-half Northern Division standings…The ‘Cats have hit 126 home runs, which is only five shy of the Hillcats record of 131 set by the 2002 squad…Paulino is batting .346 in the second half with 11 extra-base hits and 15 RBIs in 20 games since returning from a hand injury suffered in May.

Lynchburg and Potomac meet again Saturday at Calvin Falwell Field with first pitch at 6:30 p.m. Luis Lugo (8-3, 3.85) will be on the mound for the Hillcats against fellow southpaw Hectore Silvestre (0-0, 4.50). 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 at 6:15 p.m.