Top Pirates pitching prospect Brad Lincoln made his much-anticipated home debut for the Hillcats on Wednesday night, but it was left fielder Jared Keel who stole the show.

Wooden bats are the standard equipment used at City Stadium, home of the Lynchburg Hillcats. But most high school-aged baseball hitters are unaccustomed to wielding anything but aluminum when they step up to the plate.

Jarrod Dyson should have had the ball. That much was made clear when his Wilmington infield teammates made no move to back him up with two outs in the first inning. But Dyson misjudged the ball as it came off Jim Negrych’s bat, and it landed in short left field for a bloop double.

Daniel Moskos’ numbers weren’t pretty. The Pirates’ 2007 first-round draft pick had another shaky outing Monday night at City Stadium as the Hillcats lost 8-6 to Wilmington, allowing 12 hits (a season-high for a Hillcat pitcher) and five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings.

The theory would seem to make sense. Shunned by the Pirates’ organization, Brad Correll returns to Lynchburg and crushes two home runs and drives in six runs to lead Wilmington to an 11-2 victory Sunday night, thus showing the Pittsburgh brass what a huge mistake it made in releasing him in the middle of 2006.

WOODBRIDGE — Brad Lincoln, the former first-round selection of the Pittsburgh Pirates promoted this week from Hickory, N.C., experienced a rocky debut with the Lynchburg Hillcats on Friday night in a 13-5 loss to the Potomac Nationals.

WOODBRIDGE — The Potomac Nationals were not quite ready to relinquish their hold on the Carolina League Northern Division Thursday at Pfitzner Stadium. With a 6-2 victory over the Lynchburg Hillcats, Potomac remained in first place and extended their division lead to 1 1/2 games.

Brad Lincoln, the Pirates’ first-round pick in 2006 at No. 4 overall, has been promoted to Lynchburg and is scheduled to start for the Hillcats on Friday in Potomac.

Wilmington right fielder Cody Strait looked to be in line to play the spoiler again Tuesday afternoon, coming to bat with two on and only one away in the bottom of the ninth, with Lynchburg leading by just a run. 

Cuffman talks about Pennsylvania sports, being drafted by the Pirates and what he would change about the game of baseball.

The season’s all-star break came and went 2½ weeks ago, and when all was said and done, the only Hillcat to receive a permanent bump to the next level was catcher Steve Lerud.

Four sacrifice flies proved to be the difference Sunday afternoon, with starting pitcher Brian Holliday throwing his third straight quality start, giving Lynchburg a 6-2 win over Wilmington in game two of their four-game series with the Blue Rocks at Frawley Stadium.

The way he pitched in four starts before the first-half break, Hillcats left-hander Daniel Moskos appeared to be turning a corner.

The Hillcats knocked around the hottest pitcher in the league in the first game of a doubleheader Thursday.

The Hillcats and Indians had the opener of their three-game series postponed Wednesday after afternoon rains made the City Stadium field unplayable.

Jamie Romak set 30 home runs as his preseason goal, one that seemed to be out of reach when the Hillcats slugger missed the first month of the season while rehabbing from offseason elbow surgery.

The streaks — yup, both of them — are over.

Hillcats manager Jeff Branson answered before the question was even finished.

With the Pirates’ leading player development personnel on hand this weekend, the Hillcats are bound and determined to show that every batter, no matter where he hits in the lineup, is capable of putting down a bunt when called upon.

For three months, the Hillcats patiently waited for everything — solid pitching, timely hitting and reliable fielding — to come together in one enjoyable, prolonged stretch, even if it was for just a week.

Miles Durham would have been content with a triple. Anything to jumpstart what had been a slow transition from Low A to High A. The slugger was 1 for his first 26 with the Hillcats.

It doesn’t bother Hillcats right fielder Jamie Romak that he tied Frederick’s Matt Wieters for the league’s home run lead a week after the Orioles’ catcher of the future earned a promotion to Double A.

It was a little sloppy, which matched the conditions on umbrella giveaway night, but the Lynchburg Hillcats ral-lied from a 7-3 deficit to pick a 8-7 victory over visiting Winston-Salem on Saturday.

It took the Hillcats more than 50 games to string together their first three-game winning streak this season. Since then, they’ve done it two more times, including three W’s that sandwiched this week’s all-star break.

The Hillcats so enjoyed last week’s walk-off win — their first all season — that they figured they’d try it again Thursday.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Hillcats third baseman Jim Negrych went 2-for-3 and Potomac’s Edgardo Baez broke a tie game with a solo home run in the eighth inning to lead the Carolina League All-Stars to a 3-1 win against the California League All-Stars on Tuesday.

With the all-star break just innings away and the Hillcats rolling to an easy victory, storm clouds perched on the horizon, ready to soak away a perfectly good Sunday afternoon and delay what to that point had been a quick game.

Pomp and circumstance usually accompany a walk-off win.

There was hope that the Carolina League’s one-day first half break would serve as an Etch A Sketch for the woeful Hillcats. Just shake things up a little and voila! Fresh starts all around.

The first half of the Carolina League season is officially over, and to that the Hillcats say good riddance.