Winston-Salem plated five runs in the bottom of the first inning and the deficit proved too much to overcome for Lynchburg as the Dash won 6-3 on Monday night at BB&T Ballpark. Lynchburg has lost seven of its last eight contests.
THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY
Dace Kime entered the game coming off three straight quality starts for the Hillcats, but things went a little differently against the Dash. The first five batters reached base to start the contest, four of which reached on base hits, to give Winston-Salem the early momentum. Trey Michalczewski doubled to score Adam Engel that gave the Dash a 1-0 lead. With runners at second and third, Keon Barnum roped a two-RBI single that made it 3-0 in the bottom of the first. Nick Basto tallied a single that scored Barnum to extend the lead to four before an out was recorded. Following a strikeout by Omar Narvaez, Jeremy Dowdy singled and Basto scored on an errant throw by Ivan Castillo to complete the five-run frame.
Kime was removed after throwing 41 pitches in the first inning. He allowed five runs, four earned, on five hits to earn his fifth loss of the season and the third in his last five starts.
HEIDENREICH FANS SEVEN
Lynchburg handed Winston-Salem pitcher Matt Heidenreich (11-2) his first loss of the season back on June 5, but the Hillcats had no answer for him on Monday night. Heidenreich held the Hillcats scoreless through five innings and struck out seven batters. However, in the top of the sixth, Nellie Rodriguez finally caught up to a pitch from Heidenreich to record his league-leading 13th bomb of the year, a two-run blast that brought the Hillcats within three, 5-2.
AUDIO: Nellie Rodriguez home run
SO YOU’RE SAYING THERE’S A CHANCE
Winston-Salem plated another run in the bottom of the seventh, but Lynchburg made things interesting in the top of the ninth. Dorssys Paulino and Eric Haase walked to begin the inning and a single by Ivan Castillo loaded the bases with no one out. Unfortunately, Yhoxian Medina grounded into a double play that scored Paulino, but LeVon Washington struck out to end the game giving the Hillcats a 6-3 loss.
KEEPING UP WITH THE ‘CATS
Clint Frazier went 2-for-3 at the plate to record his fourth multi-hit game in his last five contests…With the pair of hits, Frazier extended his consecutive on-base streak to 27 games and his hit streak to nine games, both his longest streaks of the year…With a loss in a 10-hit performance, the Hillcats have now lost 11 games when tallying double digit hits, including two in a row…In its last two contests, Lynchburg is 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position…Medina went 2-for-5 at the plate and has nine multi-hit performances in only 25 games with the team…Frazier was named the Carolina League Player of the Week earlier in the day after going 12-for-26 (.462) with two home runs from July 13-19.
UP NEXT
Lynchburg will try to salvage the final game of the series with Winston-Salem on Tuesday 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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