Hernandez, Pitching Staff Mow Down RiverDogs

Power pitching from the Lynchburg Hillcats helped them one-hit the Charleston RiverDogs en-route to a 6-0 victory on Friday night.

Melkis Hernandez threw 5.1 innings of no-hit baseball, helping to propel the Hillcats in front. The lone hit for the RiverDogs came in the seventh off of Xavier Martinez, who bounced back to silence Charleston for the remainder of his outing.

Much like what was seen through the first few games of the series, Lynchburg struck first. After Tommy Hawke got aboard on a walk, he would work his way into scoring position before scoring on a Bennett Thompson double.

The Hillcats would use their power in the third inning to extend the lead even further. Welbyn Francisca blasted his first home run of the season on a deep drive to right-center, putting Lynchburg up 2-0.

Two more would be aboard when Jose Pirela stepped in. On a fastball right down the pipe, he would turn and drive a towering homer to right field, which traveled off the bat at 106.5 mph and a distance of 391 feet. The three-run blast would put Lynchburg up 5-0 over the RiverDogs.

The game would slow down until the eighth inning as the Hillcats would get back on the board. Pirela roped a single down the right field line to drive home Garrett Howe.

Logan McGuire would close out the ballgame throwing two scoreless innings for the Hillcats second shutout of the homestand.

Lynchburg and Charleston will square off again on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. at Bank of the James Stadium.