Velazquez Accounts For Two Homers, Hillcats Fall 14-8

Two home runs from Ralphy Velazquez were still not enough for the Lynchburg Hillcats to take down the Fredericksburg Nationals as they fell 14-8.

For the second straight night, a big inning doomed the Hillcats early and created an insurmountable lead. The Nationals scored 10 runs in the first frame, with Jackson Humphries responsible for six without getting an out.

Velazquez delivered his first home run, a solo shot, in the first inning to give Lynchburg a bit of life. However, the FredNats would respond with two runs over the next two innings to eliminate the momentum.

In the bottom of the third inning, Rafael Ramirez Jr. picked up his first hit as a Hillcat, resulting in his first career RBI. Lynchburg would strike twice in the bottom of the fourth as Manuel Mejias would lead off the inning with a solo home run. Juan Benjamin would drive home Luis Durango later in the frame to cut the deficit down to eight.

In the fifth, Esteban Gonzalez would drive home a run on a sacrifice fly. The Nationals would strike back in the sixth and the seventh to extend the lead once again back up to nine.

In the eighth, Velazquez would pick up his second home run of the game, a three-run blast, to cut the score to what the final line would be. For Velazquez, it was his first multi-home run game in professional baseball.

Lynchburg and Fredericksburg will square off for game three of the series on Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m.