SALEM, Va. – The Lynchburg Hillcats dropped their second straight game against the Salem Red Sox on Saturday night, falling 9-4.
Lynchburg (18-23, 50-58) drops to a season-high eight games below .500 overall with the loss to Salem (25-17, 50-59), and drops to 6.5 games out of a playoff spot in the CL North.
The Red Sox sent nine hitters to the plate in the first. Ryan Fitzgerald and Keith Curcio singled and Edgar Corcino walked to load the bases. With two out, Victor Acosta lined a two-run single into center field, giving Salem a 2-0 edge. A batter later, Jagger Rusconi singled home Corcino to make it 3-0 Red Sox. Later in the inning, Charlie Madden belted a three-run home run, his first of the year, to open up the lead to 6-0.
Lynchburg battled back with a pair of runs in the third. Jonathan Laureano and Cody Farhat singled to put two aboard. After Laureano advanced to third on a fly out, he came in to score on a Tyler Freeman RBI groundout. Farhat would later score on an error to trim the deficit to 6-2.
Salem countered by tacking on another run in the home half of the third inning. Corcino doubled with one out and scored on an RBI single from Acosta to widen the lead to 7-2.
In the fifth, Steven Kwan tripled and scored on an RBI single by Wilbis Santiago, cutting the lead to 7-3.
Pedro Castellanos belted a solo home run, his sixth of the year, on the first pitch of the fifth inning to give Salem an 8-3 lead.
Will Benson doubled to start the sixth inning and came around to touch home on a Laureano RBI double, making it an 8-4 contest.
Salem capped the scoring with a run in the eighth. Madden walked with two out and Nick Luvullo doubled him home for a 9-4 lead.
Lynchburg went 4-for-18 with runners in scoring position on Saturday. The Hillcats drop to a season-high five games below .500 in the second half.
Juan Hillman (Loss, 4-11) started for Lynchburg and allowed eight earned runs on nine hits over five innings. Dakody Clemmer worked 2.2 innings and gave up a run and Jonathan Teaney picked up the final out in the eighth inning.
Jhonathan Diaz (Win, 7-6) worked five innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits over five frames. Dominic LoBrutto gave up a run over two innings and Logan Browning worked two scoreless frames.
The Hillcats and Red Sox will play the final games of the three-game set on Saturday. Lynchburg will send right-hander Cody Morris (1-0, 3.74) to the mound against Salem righty Thaddeus Ward (1-1, 2.43). First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. at Haley Toyota Field.