Wood Ducks Drop Opener in Lynchburg

LYNCHBURG, VA - An entertaining pitchers' duel was separated by one swing in the fifth inning in the Hillcats' (24-17, 64-46) 1-0 victory over the Wood Ducks (20-21, 44-66). Josh Morgan reached base three times in the loss and Jonathan Hernández twirled his second consecutive quality start.

The one swing was a solo home run by Claudio Bautista in the fifth inning that turned out to be the difference. Hernandez completed six innings and also left six runners on base in his night on the mound. He overcame adversity allowing a career-high four walks with none of the free passes scoring.
Down East could not take advantage of three walks from Lynchburg starter Brock Hartson. Morgan claimed two of them before a two-out, two-strike single in the ninth gave the Woodies life. The other three hits belonged to Ti'Quan Forbes, Preston Scott, and LeDarious Clark.
After Hernandez exited, Jose Valdespina worked for the final two innings of the game. He struck out three without allowing a hit and kept the Woodies in it.
The 1-0 final is the second such defeat of the year - the first on 5/3 against Potomac and also with the only run scoring on a solo home run.
Down East looks to even the series on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. with right-hander Steven Bruce (2-3, 7.57) on the mound. You can listen to every pitch of the 2017 season live on Sports/Talk 960 The Bull or streamed on the TuneIn Radio app.