In one of the craziest contests of the season, the Salem Red Sox defeated the Lynchburg Hillcats in a 12-11 barn burner Saturday night at Calvin Falwell Field. The win broke a season-long five-game losing streak for Salem.
The Red Sox (51-34, 8-8) came out of the gate strong, scoring a run in the first against Lynchburg starter Anderson Polanco on back-to-back two-out doubles from Rafael Devers and Nick Longhi.
In the bottom of the first, the Hillcats (54-32, 9-7) plated a pair against Travis Lakins to grab a 2-1 lead, but then the Salem offense exploded.
Salem tallied three in the second against Polanco on the strength of an RBI single from Jordan Betts, a passed ball, and a Devers single, scoring Joseph Monge. Danny Mars scored on a wild pitch in the top of the third, and back-to-back run-scoring hits from Longhi and Mike Meyers in the fourth expanded Salem’s lead to 7-3.
After early shakiness, including allowing an additional run in the bottom of the second, Lakins settled down and appeared to regain his early season form. He allowed only two hits in 5.0 innings, striking out seven and walking five. The righty faced the minimum over his final three innings with help from a pair of double plays.
Against reliever Dominic DeMasi in the sixth, the Red Sox loaded the bases with two outs and Jose Sermo unloaded them with a two-run single. The next batter, Betts, doubled off the wall in centerfield to plate two more runs and run Salem’s advantage to 11-3.
Lynchburg made things interesting in the bottom of the sixth against German Taveras, loading the bases with no outs and scoring three runs to cut the lead to 11-6. Taveras bounced back to toss a 1-2-3 frame in the seventh.
The Hillcats kept coming, though, loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth against Simon Mercedes. A two-run single by Mark Mathias and a two-run double by Paul Hendrix brought the Hillcats to within a run at 11-10. Mercedes coaxed a flyout from pinch-hitter Yu-Cheng Chang, but Greg Allen singled through a drawn-in infield to tie the game at 11.
Salem would not be denied despite the blown lead. In the top of the ninth against Trevor Frank (1-1), Sermo led off with a double, and two batters later, Monge singled to drive him home, giving Salem the lead back at 12-11.
Mercedes (1-1) recovered to throw a 1-2-3 ninth inning and close out the victory.
The 18 hits collected by the Salem Red Sox in the game were three shy of the season-high total, but the eight doubles legged out set a new high-water mark for 2016. Longhi, Meyers, and Sermo all totaled three hits, while Monge had four knocks, including the game-winner. All nine batters reached base at least once, and eight of nine batters scored a run.
The Red Sox finally head back to LewisGale Field Sunday to host the final two games of the series with the Lynchburg Hillcats. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 pm. The Red Sox will throw southpaw Daniel McGrath (3-3, 4.29), while Lynchburg leans on lefty Luis Lugo (4-3, 4.18). For tickets and more information, call (540) 389-3333, or slide to www.salemsox.com/tickets.
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Chris Graham
