In Buies Creek, North Carolina, the Lynchburg Hillcats used two home runs and an RBI single to defeat the Astros, 3-1, snapping a three-game skid.
The ’Cats struck first on Emmanuel Tapia’s solo homer in the third inning, his fourth of the season. His 400-foot blast over the center-field fence gave Lynchburg a 1-0 lead, and Conner Capel’s solo shot to right field stretched the advantage to 2-0 in the fourth.
In the bottom half of the frame, Ronnie Dawson’s home run for Buies Creek (27-22) cut it to 2-1, but Lynchburg added an insurance run in the eighth to cap the scoring.
Jodd Carter’s line drive to right field in the eighth went for an RBI single, scoring Mitch Longo. Longo reached on a triple to lead off the frame.
Tapia led the way for the Hillcats offensively, going 3 for 4 with a homer and a double.
Lynchburg (24-22) tallied nine hits.
Dawson had two of Buies Creek’s six hits, going two for 4.
In addition to the offensive power the teams sent to the plate, the game also featured some extracurricular fireworks, despite a deceptive low-scoring final outcome and game time of just 2½ hours.
After a short-lived rain delay in the ninth inning — which lasted just eight minutes thanks in large part to the turf field at Campbell University, where the Astros play their home games — Buies Creek nearly tied the game.
With two outs on the board and one runner on when he stepped to the plate, Buies Creek’s J.J. Matijevic sent the first pitch deep to right field, but it was a few feet short of the fence and caught at the warning track by Jorma Rodriguez.
Rodriguez played just one inning after replacing Capel, who was ejected in the eighth after arguing a called third strike.
The Hillcats added another ejection to their resume when first-year manager Rougie Odor left the dugout in the bottom of the ninth as the rain poured on the field to argue with home-plate umpire Mark Bass.
After seeing his pitcher struggle to keep the ball dry, Odor argued a rain delay was necessary. Bass eventually temporarily suspended the game with one out in the final frame, but not before tossing Odor during a heated argument that had players and a Hillcats coach trying to restrain Odor.
When the game resumed, Hillcats reliever James Karinchak induced a lineout and allowed Abraham Toro to reach on a single before getting Matijevic to fy out.
Karinchak picked up his third save since joining the Hillcats on May 9. He’s pitched 7 2/3 innings in six appearances and has yet to allow a run.
Hillcats starter Eli Morgan (1-0) earned the win, scattering five hits and allowing one run (earned) in seven innings. He struck out seven.
Jorge Alcala (1-4) took the loss, allowing two runs (both earned) on three hits in five innings. He struck out two.