LYNCHBURG, VA (Thursday, June 14) - The Salem Red Sox were within one strike of a no-hitter Thursday night, but lost it by a whisker, and were forced to settle for a 6-1 victory over their regional rival Lynchburg Hillcats at Calvin Falwell Field.Salem (31-34) received outstanding performances from starting
LYNCHBURG, VA (Thursday, June 14) - The Salem Red Sox were within one strike of a no-hitter Thursday night, but lost it by a whisker, and were forced to settle for a 6-1 victory over their regional rival Lynchburg Hillcats at Calvin Falwell Field.
Salem (31-34) received outstanding performances from starting pitcher Tanner Houck (W, 3-7) and reliever Joan Martinez (S, 2), and their defense was excellent as well, turning two critical double plays. Lynchburg (27-37) saw their offensive woes continue, as they've now scored just four runs over their last seven games. The Red Sox did not give up a fly out until the ninth inning, keeping the Hillcats grounded.
The Sox came out firing in the top of the first against Lynchburg starter Zach Plesac (L, 4-3), as Tyler Hill spanked a leadoff double into the gap in right-center field. A fly out to deep center by Brett Netzer advanced Hill to third, and Plesac uncorked a wild pitch that allowed the runner to scoot home, giving the Sox a 1-0 lead.
Salem added to their cushion in the top of the fourth inning. Santiago Espinal singled to lead off the second before pilfering second base. Roldani Baldwin knocked a single to right-center, scoring Espinal, and Bobby Dalbec doubled to put runners at second and third. Jerry Downs sliced a single into right-center field, plating both Baldwin and Dalbec to run the lead to 4-0.
The Sox tacked on a pair in the top of the fifth inning. Leadoff man Jordan Procyshen hit a fly to deep center that just avoided Tre' Gantt's glove, and Procyshen sped to third with his first career triple. Hill kept the train rolling, singling up the middle to score Procyshen before Netzer thumped a double to left to score Hill and extend the Salem edge to 6-0.
In the bottom of the ninth, Martinez got the first two outs on a fly out to left by Trenton Brooks and a whiff of Li-Jen Chu. However, he walked Gantt, who headed to second on defensive indifference. Luke Wakamatsu worked the count full before dropping a sinking liner into left, scoring Gantt and breaking up the no-no. Martinez recovered to induce a groundout from Emmanuel Tapia to end the game.
Houck was magnificent, firing six no-hit innings with three strikeouts against four walks. Martinez allowed one run on one hit and four walks over three innings, striking out five.
The Sox will shoot for their third straight win Friday night, with lefty Darwinzon Hernandez making the start for Salem against Lynchburg righty Justin Garza. First pitch at Calvin Falwell Field is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the pregame show with Ben Gellman and Suzie Cool begins at 6:15 p.m. on the Red Sox broadcast network.
