Tugboat Pulls Hillcats to Victory Behind 15 Strikeouts

The Lynchburg Hillcats were carried by Matt Wilkinson and his 15 strikeouts to pick up their first win of the series over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, 3-0.

The Hillcats pitching racked up 20 strikeouts in their two-hit shutout. The Pelicans did not pick up a base hit until the eighth inning.

Wilkinson, known as Tugboat, struck out the side in the first inning and could not be stopped after that. He picked up three strikeouts in the first, second, fourth, and sixth inning.

Lynchburg put their first runs on the board in the third inning. Tommy Hawke would double to open the inning. He would swipe third before scoring on a Luis Durango single. Durango would advance to third on an errant pickoff and come home courtesy of Christian Knapczyk.

Lynchburg would lead 2-0 as Tugboat would continue to go to work. He would surrender a baserunner in the fourth on a walk but would keep the basepaths empty after that.

Joshua Harlow would surrender the first hit of the night with one out in the eighth inning, but left the runner stranded on second. The Hillcats would pick up one more run on a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the inning.

The last time a Hillcats pitcher had 14 or more strikeouts was back in 2017 when Triston McKenzie picked up 14 against the Carolina Mudcats on May 9th.

The Hillcats and Pelicans will square off for game four on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at Lynchburg-hillcats.com.