Collins' homer not enough in homestand opener

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Aug. 11, 2017) - Zack Collins blistered a solo home run, but that was not enough to match the offensive-minded Lynchburg Hillcats, who pounded out 14 runs on 17 hits to take the series opener 14-1 on Friday evening at BB&T Ballpark in front of 5,223 fans.
Collins lasered a solo shot, his 17th of the season, to the home run porch in right field in the fourth inning, propelling him into a tie for second place in the Carolina League in homers. However, that was all Winston-Salem (23-24, 47-70) could muster against Lynchburg starter Dominic DeMasi (5-3), who tossed six innings and allowed just the one run on three hits while striking out three. DeMasi has now given up just two runs over his last 13 innings pitched.

After spinning back-to-back six-inning, 12-strikeout starts, Alec Hansen (2-5) struggled to find his groove in the opening frame. The Hillcats (30-18, 70-47) tagged the former Oklahoma Sooner for two runs in the first on a two-RBI double off the bat of Ka'ai Tom. Lynchburg's two early runs marked the first runs allowed by Hansen since the fourth inning of his only professional complete game at Lynchburg on July 30.
Following Tom's double, Hansen set down 10 of the next 12 batters he faced, with the lone blemish coming from Andrew Calica in the third on a solo homer to push the Hillcats out to a 3-0 edge.
Lynchburg eventually ran Hansen from the game in the fifth, as Calica and Gavin Collins roped consecutive two-out, run-scoring singles to give the Hillcats a 5-1 lead.
In the sixth, Lynchburg added four more against Dash reliever Zach Thompson. Willi Castro notched an RBI groundout to open the scoring, and Collins finished off the offensive outburst with a three-run double.
The Hillcats tacked on one in the seventh and four in the ninth to cap their 14-run output, tied for the most runs Winston-Salem has surrendered in a game this season.
Ben Krauth spun the last three innings in relief of DeMasi, surrendering one hit and two walks while picking up four strikeouts and his first save with Lynchburg.
In the losing effort, Dash outfielder Eloy Jiménez pushed his hitting streak to 10 games with a fourth-inning single. During this stretch, which is one shy of the longest by a Winston-Salem hitter this season, Jimenez is hitting .375 (15-for-40) with two homers and nine RBIs.
The Dash and Hillcats will square off in the middle match of their three-game series on Saturday at BB&T Ballpark, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Winston-Salem will send right-hander Dane Dunning (4-5, 3.33 ERA) to the slab against Lynchburg southpaw Tanner Tully (0-2, 4.15 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:15 p.m. and will be available on wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio App.
Following any of the Dash's weekend contests, kids are invited to run the bases, powered by New Balance Winston-Salem. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.