Lynchburg dropped a de facto doubleheader against the Winston-Salem Dash on Sunday afternoon at BB&T Ballpark. The Dash crushed three home runs in the first game to erase a 3-1 Lynchburg lead and shutout the Hillcats in the second contest.
GAME ONE – WHO’S THE HOME TEAM?
Resuming a game that was originally suspended on June 27, the Hillcats took the field as the home team on the road at BB&T Ballpark with a 3-1 lead. Mitch Brown began the game on the mound replacing Dace Kime, who was the original starter for the Hillcats, and surrendered a solo home run to the first batter he faced, Cleuluis Rondon, that brought the Dash within one, 3-2.
GREAT PITCHING
Both pitchers were locked in on the mound throughout the game. Mitch Brown settled in after the solo shot by Rondon and at one point retired 11 straight batters. Brown ran into some trouble in the top of the eighth when he allowed a solo home run toAdam Engel that tied the game at three. He then walked back-to-back batters before Keon Barnum smashed a three-run home run to left field that gave the Dash a 6-3 lead.
Brandon Brennan, who originally started the game for Winston-Salem, picked up right where he left off and held the Hillcats scoreless until he was replaced in the bottom of the eighth inning. Relief pitcher Peter Tago gave up a RBI double to Luigi Rodriguez that brought Lynchburg back within two, but it wasn’t enough as Tago held on for another inning to pick up his seventh save of the year.
AUDIO: Luigi Rodriguez RBI double
GAME TWO – BLANK SPACE
Both pitchers made their first Carolina League start in the nightcap. Dash pitcher Spencer Adams was promoted from Low-A Kannapolis Sunday and wasted no time in making an immediate impact in the Dash rotation. In his first career start in Winston-Salem, Adams held the Hillcats scoreless through six innings and allowed just three hits while walking one and striking out five to earn the shutout win.
Perci Garner had appeared in two games for the Hillcats this season, both in relief, but struggled in his first start. The right-hander worked through five innings and allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out five batters. In the bottom of the third,Adam Engel reached on a single, stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error by Sicnarf Loopstok. He scored on a wild pitch by Garner to give Winston-Salem a 1-0 lead. Nick Basto led off the fourth inning with a single and was brought home on a RBI double by Nolan Earley to extend the lead to 2-0. The final run came in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly byTrey Michalczewski that scored Adam Engel for the second time to put the Dash up 3-0.
KEEPING UP WITH THE ‘CATS
Clint Frazier reached base on a single in the first game and went 1-for-3 at the plate in game two…With the hit in game one,Frazier extended his consecutive on-base streak to 26 games, the longest by any Hillcat this season…The single in the second game extended Frazier’s hit streak to eight games, his longest streak of the year…The Hillcats were blanked for the seventh time this year, six of which have come in seven-inning games.
UP NEXT
Lynchburg continues its series with Winston-Salem on Monday night at 7 p.m. 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 6:40 p.m. for the Hillcats On-Deck Show.
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Chris Graham
