Hillcats collect more hits, score fewer runs

By Andy Bitter

Published: April 16, 2008

Offensively, this season could be a struggle for the Hillcats. Their roster doesn’t include the thumpers it had last year, home-run types able to alter a game’s outcome with a single swing.
There are going to be days when Lynchburg has to make things happen on offense, whether its bunting, trying a hit-and-run or stealing a base or two.
And there are going to be days like Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to Potomac, when those things simply don’t add up to a win.
The Nationals (10-2) completed a three-game sweep of the Hillcats (4-8) at City Stadium, taking an afternoon contest thanks to Marvin Lowrance’s solo home run in the eighth inning.
Lynchburg, which entered the game with the third-lowest batting average in the Carolina League, out-hit Potomac 8-6 but couldn’t put together any kind of sustained rally, failing to get a runner past second until the fifth.
The few times the Hillcats did have runners on, they tried to force the action. It didn’t work. They had one runner picked off and two more caught stealing.
“You take a risk. You gamble,” Hillcats manager Jeff Branson said. “Sometimes it pays off. Sometimes it doesn’t. But I’m not going to change anything I do. We’ve got to try to force the issue sometimes. That’s the nature of the game.”
Potomac took a 3-0 lead off Lynchburg starter Jared Hughes, who went 4 2/3 innings, striking out two and walking two.
For a Hillcats offense that has scored three or fewer runs in eight of their 12 games, that’s a daunting deficit.
Nationals starter Cory VanAllen (2-0) kept them off-balance all afternoon. Despite not being a hard thrower, the lefty hit his spots, going six innings and allowing one unearned run on four hits to go with four strikeouts.
Lynchburg’s 2-3-4-5 hitters — Angel Gonzalez, Jim Negrych, Steve Lerud and Kent Sakamoto — combined to go 0-for-14.
“We’ve got to be able to pick it up from our other spots,” Branson said. “You can’t rely on 3-4-5 every day. The other guys have to get it going too.”
They did, but not in bunches, forcing the Hillcats to try to make things happen. It backfired.
Pinch runner James Barksdale was picked off with the hit-and-run sign on in the third. Tony Mansolino swung through a pitch on a hit-and-run in the fourth, leaving Jared Keel as an easy target on the basepaths. And Brian Friday was thrown out trying to steal in the seventh, ending the inning.
“It’s tough on lefties,” said Friday, who, like Keel, had two hits. “Basically, you’re guessing. If you guess right you look like a genius. If you guess wrong you look like an idiot. And we guessed wrong today.”
Lynchburg produced a pair of runs to get within 3-2, bunting Mansolino into scoring position in the fifth before getting him across with a ground out. In the seventh, Barksdale stole second and scored on Friday’s two-out single.
But Lowrance crushed a first-pitch offering from Lynchburg reliever Blair Johnson in the eighth to make it 4-2, complicating the Hillcats’ comeback bid.
Lynchburg got within 4-3 in the ninth after Keel hit a one-out double and scored on Eddie Prasch’s pinch-hit single. But Potomac closer Josh Wilkie closed the door by getting Chris Jones to fly out.
“Overall, we’re swinging the bats better than we did the first five or six games, but now we’re just not putting much together in terms of getting hits in a row,” Friday said. “I think we need to focus on having consistent at bats. I think it will happen.”
NOTES: Reliever Derek Antelo was moved to Double-A Altoona yesterday. It is unclear how long he’ll be there. … CF Alex Presley left the game in the third after bunting his way on. He twisted his ankle awkwardly as he touched first and was replaced by Barksdale. Branson said he’s day-to-day. … The Hillcats begin an 11-game road trip today. They start with a four-game series in Salem, before traveling to Myrtle Beach for three games and Kinston for four.