Hillcats Rout Red Sox 9-2

Salem, VA (July 12, 2012) - The Red Sox found themselves behind early and never were able to overcome a weighty deficit in Thursday's 9-2 Lynchburg victory at LewisGale Field. The Hillcats scored twice each in the first and second innings against Salem's Keith Couch, surging to a 5-0 lead through three and a 6-0 advantage through six. The Red Sox broke up the shutout in the seventh, but Salem stranded ten men on base and never seriously threatened Lynchburg starter Gus Schlosser, who earned his ninth win of the season with seven steady innings.

Schlosser permitted just one run on six hits and two walks, striking out seven to improve to 9-4 on the year. Couch suffered the loss, dipping to 6-7, after surrendering five runs (four earned) on eight hits over four innings.

Four of the first five Hillcats reached in Lynchburg's two-run top of the first, while Matt Weaver's solo home run highlighted the Hillcats' two-run second that made it 4-0. In the third, Lynchburg added an unearned run when Braeden Schlehuber doubled and scored on Lucas LeBlanc's fielding error on a David Rohm line drive down the right field line. Edward Salcedo homered off Sox reliever Manny Rivera in the fifth, giving the Hillcats a 6-0 lead.

Salem finally cracked Schlosser in the seventh with LeBlanc's double preceding Matty Johnson's RBI single that put the Sox on the board. But in the eighth, Lynchburg's Bobby Stevens earned the run back with an RBI single that scored Rohm. In the ninth, Chris Garcia crushed a two-run homer off Ryan Pressly to make it 9-1.

Salem loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth against Juan Jaime, but the Sox managed just one run, with Sean Coyle coming across on Johnson's RBI ground-out. Salem finished just 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

LeBlanc and Shannon Wilkerson led the Red Sox with two hits apiece, while Garcia drove in four runs to pace the Hillcats.

The four-game, two-city series is even at one win apiece as the action shifts to Lynchburg on Friday and Saturday. The Red Sox will send Yeiper Castillo to the mound on Friday for a 7:05 first pitch at City Stadium. The Hillcats will counter with Cody Martin.