Thomas Pannone held Winston-Salem to only three baserunners while striking out eight batters in seven innings to start Lynchburg’s second combined shutout of the season in a 5-0 victory Monday night at City Stadium. The offense supplied five runs on 11 hits, which included four doubles, a triple and two home runs for a total of seven extra-base hits.
Making his fifth start of the season, Pannone (1-0, 0.00) extended his streak without allowing an earned run to 45 2/3 innings, dating back to August 25 of last season. He has tossed 27 2/3 frames in 2017 with the only run against him being unearned.Pannone fanned eight and did not walk anyone to push his season totals to 39 strikeouts and seven walks. Both of his victories have come in combined shutouts with the other one occurring in a 1-0 win at Carolina April 18.
Jodd Carter provided some early run support with a solo home run to left field with two outs in the second inning. All of Carter’steam-leading three homers have been with the bases clear. It remained 1-0 until the sixth when Sam Haggerty cracked a double to right field and scored two batters later on a Ka’ai Tom triple.
The Hillcats plated a pair in the seventh to stretch the margin to 4-0. Ivan Castillo and Haggerty hit back-to-back doubles to produce the first run, and Haggerty came home on a base hit to center field by Andrew Calica.
Connor Marabell concluded the scoring for the day with his second home run of the homestand, a fly ball that banged off the videoboard in right-center field to make it 5-0. It marked the fourth time the Hillcats have had multiple home runs in the same game. Lynchburg is 7-2 whenever the team has at least one homer in the contest.
After being named Carolina League Player of the Week earlier in the day thanks to his .905 slugging percentage and nine runs scored in the past five games, Haggerty added to his impressive numbers with a 2-4 day that included two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI. The switch-hitting middle infielder tops the Carolina League with 19 runs and 15 extra-base hits, including a league-best six triples. He ranks second on the circuit with nine doubles and a .629 slugging percentage for the year.
Leandro Linares completed the shutout with three strikeouts over two scoreless innings.
Lynchburg faces Winston-Salem again Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Triston McKenzie (2-1, 3.26) will start for Lynchburg against Dane Dunning (Advanced-A debut) in a matchup showcasing two elite pitching prospects. It’s a #2FurTuesday presented by ABC 13, so tickets are buy one, get one free. Gates open at 5:30. For those who can’t make it, the game can be heard live at www.lynchburg-hillcats.com with coverage beginning at 6:20.
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