Salem Red Sox grind past Lynchburg Hillcats, 4-2

The Salem Red Sox pounded out 12 hits and utilized three two-out runs to knock off the Lynchburg Hillcats 4-2 on Monday night at LewisGale Field. The victory was Salem’s third straight.

The Sox struck first thanks to a two-out rally in the last of the first. Cole Sturgeon singled to left and Kevin Heller followed with a single to right. Mike Meyers then poked a grounder between first and second, scoring Sturgeon to give Salem a 1-0 lead.

The lead did not last long, though, as Ty Buttrey struggled with his control in the second. After Dorsyss Paulino smacked a one-out double, Buttrey walked Mike Papi and Yhoxian Medina to load the bases. He then issued a free pass to Ivan Castillo, driving in Paulino to tie the game at one. The offense continued for Lynchburg in the third with a solo home run from Joe Sever, vaulting the Hillcats ahead 2-1.

Salem bounced back in the fourth with a long ball of its own. Meyers led off the frame by crushing a ball to left to tie the game at two. For Meyers, it was his first homer since joining Salem and sixth overall this year. The Sox then loaded the bases with another two-out rally, but left them loaded and it remained 2-2 after four.

The Red Sox took the lead for good in the fifth. After Heller smacked a one-out triple to right, he was thrown out at home on a Meyers grounder to short. Meyers reached on the fielder’s choice and stole second base. Forrestt Allday then struck out, but the third strike got away from Sicnarf Loopstok, allowing Allday to reach and Meyers to take third. Jordan Betts made the Hillcats pay in the next at bat by bouncing an infield single to short, scoring Meyers to give Salem a 3-2 lead.

Insurance came in the sixth, again with two outs. Deiner Lopez doubled to left-center to lead off the inning and stood at third when Sturgeon stepped in with two down. Sturgeon blooped a single to shallow right and Lopez scored, pushing the lead to 4-2.

Jayson Aquino (0-2) took the loss, allowing four runs on 12 hits and one walk with five strikeouts in 5.2 innings pitched. Buttrey (8-8) was the winning pitcher thanks to six solid innings. He allowed two runs on just three hits while walking four and striking out five.

Meyers led the Salem offense by going 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored and two RBI. Sturgeon went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored and Heller was 2-for-4 with a triple.The Red Sox improved to 58-68 and 20-36 in the second half while the Hillcats dropped to 65-62 and 32-25.

Salem and Lynchburg continue the three-game series on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. with Trey Ball (8-12, 4.77) opposing Luis Lugo (7-10, 4.24). Fans unable to attend can listen to the game on 1240 AM ESPN Roanoke, online at salemsox.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.