Hillcats Release 2017 Schedule
After falling short in four games against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in the Mills Cup Championship Series, the Lynchburg Hillcats' 2017 season will pick up right where 2016 left off. Lynchburg will host Opening Day Thursday, April 6, against Myrtle Beach at 6:30 p.m. The initial four-game series versus the Pelicans begins a seven-game homestand, which includes three straight against Salem.
In their third season as the Cleveland Indians' Advanced-A affiliate, the Hillcats will host 70 games at newly-renovated Lynchburg City Stadium. The home contests are evenly distributed throughout the season with 35 occurring before the Carolina League All-Star Break and 35 after the Mid-June Classic. The Hillcats host 34 weekend games (Friday, Saturday or Sunday) and 36 weekday games. All Friday contests will feature a giveaway as part of the organization's FAN-tastic Friday Giveaway Theme.
Lynchburg will have a Fireworks Show following every Saturday home game in addition to the July 4 contest, resulting in 12 Fireworks Nights during the season. To better accommodate for the fireworks, all Saturday games will begin at 6 p.m., but July 4 against Wilmington will still start at 6:30 p.m. Accounting for the hot summers in Lynchburg, the Hillcats have decided to move their Sunday home games after the All-Star Break to 5 p.m. All Sunday games prior to June 19 will remain at 2 p.m.
Lynchburg's start times for its home weekday games are set for 6:30 p.m., excluding May 3, which will be Say No To Drugs Day for local elementary schools with a first pitch at 11 a.m. The only other deviation on a weekday will be Memorial Day, May 29, in which the Hillcats will play Salem at 2 p.m.
Headlined by a brand-new playing surface with a state-of-the-art drainage system, Calvin Falwell Field will have numerous improvements to showcase during each home game. New group seating areas, an expanded kids zone, and a relocated team store cover just a few of the updates. Additionally, the team's new colors and logos will be on display every time the Hillcats take the field in 2017.
The Hillcats will play two new members of the Carolina League in 2017, the Down East Wood Ducks and the Buies Creek Astros. The Wood Ducks, an affiliate of the Texas Rangers, will travel to Lynchburg for the first and only time for a four-game series beginning August 3. The Hillcats host the Astros for a lone four-game series August 14-17. Lynchburg hosts multiple seven-day homestands beginning April 6, June 8, July 4, and August 14. The Hillcats' regular-season schedule concludes on the road in Wilmington on Labor Day, Sept. 4, with the Carolina League Playoffs set to begin Wednesday, Sept. 6. Lynchburg has made the postseason five consecutive years, a streak that includes the 2012 Mills Cup Championship.
Lynchburg will release a schedule including all daily promotions and giveaways later in the offseason. Season tickets are on sale for purchase by calling the Hillcats Box Office at 434-528-1144.