Two-out hitting fuels 3-2 Hillcats victory

All three of Lynchburg’s runs occurred with two outs to build a 3-0 lead through five innings, and the Hillcats held on for a 3-2 victory Friday night at Pfitzner Stadium.

Willi Castro had a pair of two-out RBIs. His two-out single in the third inning drove in Sam Haggerty, who had doubled one batter earlier. That gave the Hillcats a 1-0 advantage. Lynchburg plated two more in the fifth. Anthony Miller and Castro scored the runs. Castro and Ka’ai Tom had the RBIs on back-to-back RBI singles. Potomac scored two runs on three hits in the sixth inning to cut it to 3-2, but the Nationals failed to tie the game with the possible tying run at third base in multiple frames.

Triston McKenzie held Potomac to two runs on six hits in seven innings. He struck out 10 batters and only walked one. It marked the fourth time McKenzie fanned double-digit batters in a start this season. He raised his league-leading strikeout total to 134, while lowering his ERA to 2.86. Billy Strode earned a hold with two outs in the eighth inning, and Argenis Angulo retired all four batters he faced for his 11th save of the year.

Lynchburg faces Potomac again Saturday at 6:35 p.m. Brock Hartson (4-4, 3.23) will start for the Hillcats against left-hander Taylor Guilbeau (2-2, 3.79). Fans can listen to the game live at lynchburg-hillcats.com.