Hillcats Win Over Salem Behind Strong Zibin Start

The Lynchburg Hillcats picked up their first win of the series by downing the Salem Red Sox 7-1 on Thursday evening.

After a great start from Jacob Zibin, the rest of the bullpen would follow suit. In addition, Lynchburg picked up 11 hits, their most of the week.

The Hillcats would strike early and often, putting a run on the board in the first inning. After a single from Welbyn Francisca, he would work his way around to score on a wild pitch.

In the second, Lynchburg would extend their lead courtesy of Jose Pirela. His bloop single to right field drove home Yaikel Mijares to extend the lead to two. Pirela was thrown out attempting to stretch his base hit into a double.

Luis Merejo would drive home another run in the third on a slow roller to the third basemen. One batter later, Robert Lopez would drive a double down the right field line to plate two more runs, pushing Lynchburg in front 5-0.

A solo shot for Salem in the fifth inning would get them on the board. Kleyver Salazar jolted a pitch low in the zone over the left center field wall to make it a 5-1 game.

The Hillcats would respond immediately in the bottom of the fifth inning as they attempted a double steal with runners on the corners. After Merejo worked his way into a rundown, Nick Mitchell broke for home, forcing an errant throw and extending the lead back to five.

In the sixth, the Hillcats would find production from the bottom of the order. Carlos Gutierrez would rope a single that scored Alberto Mendez, pushing Lynchburg to a 7-1 advantage.

The lead would hold over the final few innings as the bullpen would shut the door on Salem.

Lynchburg and Salem will renew their rivalry on Friday evening at Bank of the James Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Due to the expected crowd size, gates will open at 5:00 p.m.