On the strength of a four-run fifth inning, the Salem Red Sox beat the Lynchburg Hillcats 6-4 on Saturday night at LewisGale Field. It was the first home victory against Lynchburg this season, with Salem having lost its nine previous tries.
Tied 1-1 entering the bottom of the fifth, the Red Sox quickly made the first two outs on just five pitches. Mauricio Dubon then worked a walk, followed by a single from Forrestt Allday. Luis Lugo walked Wendell Rijo to load the bases and was then lifted in favor of Justin Brantley.
Mario Martinez greeted Brantley by serving a single to right-center, scoring Dubon and Allday to put the Sox on top 3-1. Kevin Heller followed with a double to the gap in left-center, knocking in Rijo and Martinez. After the four-run, two-out rally, the Sox led 5-1.
Salem’s first run came in the second inning, starting with a Jordan Betts walk. Jordan Weems shot a double down the left-field line one batter later, allowing Betts to score all the way from first for a 1-0 lead.
Lynchburg scored its first run in the top of the third, tying the game with some small ball. Luigi Rodriguez reached on an infield single and later scored when Clint Frazier skied a fly to center, deep enough for Rodriguez to tag and score from third. The sacrifice fly tied the game at one and represented the only run against Trey Ball.
Ball (7-8) battled command issues but allowed only one run on three hits through 5.2 innings. He struck out a pair and walked a career-high six batters in the winning effort, his first victory since June 19.
Salem added one more insurance run in the eighth when Betts singled and later scored on a passed ball. Lynchburg cut the deficit to two with a three-run ninth. Rodriguez singled in Eric Haase and Frazier cranked a two-run homer to place the score at 6-4. The Hillcats brought the tying run to the plate when Nellie Rodriguez doubled, but Paul Hendrix grounded out to Dubon, ending the game.
Lugo (5-9) took the loss with four runs against him on four hits in 4.2 innings. He struck out seven, but also struggled with his control by walking five.
Weems went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, Allday was 2-for-4 with a run scored and Martinez extended his hitting streak to 13 games by going 2-for-4 with a run scored and a pair of RBI. The 13-game hitting streak is the longest active streak in the Carolina League.
The Red Sox took four of the five games in the two-city series, improving to 49-44 and 11-12 in the second half. Lynchburg’s loss dropped them to 43-49 and 10-12. Salem now hits the road for a three-game series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Aaron Wilkerson (7-1, 2.84) starts for Salem against Myrtle Beach’s Paul Blackburn (4-3, 4.38). The 6:05 p.m. game can be heard on 1240 AM ESPN Roanoke, online at salemsox.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.
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Chris Graham
