Potomac Nationals shut down Lynchburg Hillcats, 3-1

Potomac used a number of highlight plays on defense to hold the Hillcats to just one run as Lynchburg fell 3-1 to the Nationals on Tuesday night at City Stadium. Clint Fraizer went 3-for-3 at the plate with a trio of doubles in the loss.

 

WALKING IN LYNCHBURG

In the bottom of the second inning, Lynchburg loaded the bases with a double by Mike Papi, a single by Sicnarf Loopstok, and a walk byIvan Castillo. For the second straight game, Yhoxian Medina recorded an RBI without a hit as he drew a walk to score Papi from third to give the Hillcats a 1-0 lead.

 

KNOTTED UP

Grant DeBruin led off the fourth with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. With two outs in the inning, Reegie Corona doubled to drive in DeBruin to tie the game at one.

 

PULLING AWAY

DeBruin again led off the sixth with a base hit and scored on a two-out triple by Corona that gave Potomac a 2-1 lead. The Nationals took the lead on a RBI single by Craig Manuel that scored Corona from third to make it 3-1.

 

SO YOU’RE SAYING THERE’S A CHANCE

Lynchburg had its chances to tie the game, but could not capitalize. In the bottom of the sixth with the game-tying run on base, Ivan Castillolined into a double play to short that ended the inning. In the seventh, Clint Frazier doubled with two outs, but was left stranded as Nellie Rodriguez popped up second base. In the final frame, Yhoxian Medina reached on a fielder’s choice as Stephen Perez made a diving stop that robbed him of a base hit and LeVon Washington smashed a line drive right at DeBruin at first to end the game.

 

STREAK COMES TO AN END

After earning a win in each of his last five starts, Mitch Brown took the loss for the Hillcats tonight. The right-hander pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed just two earned runs on 10 hits and struck out six, but the Hillcats only gave him one run of support in the loss.

 

KEEPING UP WITH THE CATS

Clint Frazier went 3-for-3 at the plate with a trio of doubles and a walk…Frazier moved into second on the team with 28 RBIs this season…Nellie Rodriguez leads the team and the Carolina League with 31 two-baggers…Ivan Castillo walked three times in the game to set a new career-high…The Hillcats as a team walked seven times in the contest.

 

UP NEXT

Lynchburg will look to even up the series with the Potomac Nationals on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. It will be Win-Win Wednesday and fans that attend the game will receive a free ticket to the following Wednesday home game. Fans can tune in to the action on ESPN Virginia 93.3 FM and 1320 AM as well as www.lynchburg-hillcats.com beginning at 6:10 p.m. for the Hillcats On-Deck Show.