Hillcats Shutout in Second Straight Loss

Lynchburg, Virginia – The Lynchburg Hillcats (8-2) fell victim to another hot start from the Salem Red Sox (5-5) to drop game four of a six game series at Haley Toyota Field.

H**OW IT HAPPENED**

• The Red Sox came out swinging against Hillcats’ starter Sergio Morrillo (0-1). Salem leadoff hitter Will Dalton immediately smoked a double to right-center field and was moved along when ‘Cats first baseman Jhonkensy Noel committed an error trying to get Nick Yorke on a groundout. Nick Northcut drove both runs home by smacking a two-bagger to left. Back-to-back singles from Joe Davis and Jaxx Groshans scored Northcut and put Salem up 3-0 with no outs. A hit by a pitch loaded the bases, with the final run of the frame coming home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ceddanne Rafeala. Morrillo finished out the inning without allowing anymore runs, but the Red Sox still took a sizable 4-0 lead.

• The Hillcats struggled to hit Red Sox starter Shane Drohan (1-0), who tossed five scoreless frames in the longest start for a Salem pitcher this series. The best shot to score for the Hillcats came in the 3rd inning when Angel Martinez ripped a double off the left field wall. The Lynchburg infielder even moved to third on the steal, but the Hillcats went down in order, leaving Martinez stranded.

• The only other hits on the night for the ‘Cats came from Will Bartlett who went 2-3, with knocks in the first and the seventh innings.

• Zach Hart and Jerson Ramirez put together incredible performances in relief for the Hillcats. Hart went five innings, allowing just two hits, no runs, walking one, and fanning four Salem batters. Ramirez finished out the final two frames for Lynchburg, not allowing a single baserunner.

• In the end the first inning decided the game with Salem taking a 4-0 victory to even the series with the Hillcats at one apiece.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Red Sox have scored ten runs in the first inning of the last two games combined.

• Neither Zach Hart nor Jerson Ramirez have given up a run on the mound for the Hillcats this season.

WHO'S NEXT

The Hillcats look to snap the little losing streak tomorrow in game five. First pitch is set for Salem Memorial Ballpark at 6:05pm.