Hillcats Win Third Straight

Lynchburg, VA - Johnathan Rodriguez went 3-4 and Brauny Munoz picked up his second win in a row as the Lynchburg Hillcats (38-35) took down the Carolina Mudcats (44-30) in game two of a six game series Wednesday night at Bank of the James Stadium.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was the Mudcats who scored first on Munoz (2-1) when Ashton McGee pushed Freddy Zamora home with an RBI single. The tally made it 1-0 Carolina heading into the bottom of the third.
• Lynchburg retaliated right away when Yordys Valdes immediately hit an infield single off Mudcats’ starter Brendan Murphy (5-4) in the bottom of the third. Petey Halpin followed by drawing a walk and both runners moved into scoring position when Murphy threw a wild pitch into the backstop. Yainer Diaz brought the duo home by smacking a single to right-center field, giving Lynchburg its first lead of the game. The ‘Cats weren’t done yet, scoring another run when Johnathan Rodriguez ripped a double that brought in Diaz to make it 3-1 Hillcats.
• Darrien Miller and Carolina cut the lead to one when the Mudcats’ slugger led off the top of the fifth with a solo shot to right. The Mudcats even loaded the bases in the frame, but Munoz fanned two in a row to get out of the jam and keep the Hillcats up.
• Lynchburg responded with a big inning in the bottom of the fifth, piling on three runs against Carolina reliever Nate Peden. Halpin and Angel Martinez started the frame with a pair of singles, coming home when Jhonkensy Noel ripped a two-bagger. Noel himself tallied when Rodriguez picked up his second RBI of the night with a base-hit, making it 6-2 ‘Cats.
• Lynchburg added another run thanks to a Yordys Valdes RBI single in the bottom of the sixth.
• With Hillcats’ reliever Hugo Villalobos on the mound Carolina did pick up a run in the top of the seventh. Two singles and a groundout brought Gabe Holt around and cut the Hillcats lead to four.
• Lynchburg scored two more times in the bottom of the seventh with Alexfri Planez and Andres Melendez both earning RBIs to put the Hillcats up 9-3.
• Villalobos shut the Mudcats out in the eighth in the ninth, going four innings in his first appearance at home. The 20-year-old also earned the save in the Hillcats six-run victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Jhonkensy Noel and Johnathan Rodriguez both pushed their hitting streaks to nine games.
• The Hillcats slapped ten hits on Carolina’s Nate Peden in just two and two thirds innings. That’s the most knocks given up by a Hillcats’ opponent all year.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Hillcats take on the Mudcats in game three Thursday night at 6:30pm. Jordan Jones will take the mound for Lynchburg.