Vassalotti and Hall Lead the Way in 4-2 Victory

Lynchburg 2 @ Carolina 4

July 07, 2021 | Venue : Five County Stadium | First pitch : 6:59 PM | Att : 1,256 | T : 3:06

WP: Michele Vassalotti (2 - 3) LP: Daniel Espino (1 - 2) SV: Kent Hasler (2

ZEBULON – Michele Vassalotti tossed five scoreless innings with five strikeouts, Kent Hasler earned his second save, Joey Wiemer scored twice and Alex Hall drove in a couple of runs while going 2-for-3 as the Mudcats won their fourth straight 4-2 versus the Hillcats on Wednesday night at Five County Stadium.

The victory gave the first place Mudcats (32-23) a two games to none lead in the six-game series over Lynchburg (26-28) and put them up a full game in the Low-A East Central standings.

Vassalotti (2-3, 6.49) turned in his best start of the season as he worked through five scoreless with five strikeouts. He also worked around two walks and scattered a couple of hits while facing 19 batters and reaching 64 pitches (37 strikes) over five full frames.

Carolina supported Vassalotti’s strong effort by scoring runs in bunches with two in the second and two in the fourth and led 4-0 before Lynchburg answered with a run in the sixth and seventh innings.

A balk by Lynchburg starter Daniel Espino (1-2, 3.38) forced in the game’s first run in the second as Noah Campbell was awarded home on the free pass after reaching on a walk, stealing second and tagging up to advance on to third before scoring. Hall then followed with his first of two run-scoring hits to give the Mudcats a 2-0 lead. Hall and Gabe Holt then added RBI singles in the fourth to put Carolina up 4-0.

Those two late runs were all that the Hillcats scored as the Carolina bullpen combined to go four innings with two runs allowed and two strikeouts the rest of the way. Joey Matulovich allowed a run and two hits in the sixth, but pitched around two walks while leaving the bases loaded. Peyton Long worked the seventh and eighth and ended up allowing just one run over his two innings pitched. Hasler (S, 2) then pitched the ninth and struck out two while closing out his second save.

The series will continue on Thursday night with the first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Five County Stadium. The Mudcats lead the series 2-0 and will take a four-game winning streak into Wednesday’s game.

TOP PERFORMERS - BATTERS:

Halpin, CF (Lynchburg): 1-for-4, 0 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI

Martinez, 2B (Lynchburg): 1-for-5, 1 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI

Jerez, 1B (Lynchburg): 1-for-4, 0 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI

Valdes, SS (Lynchburg): 1-for-3, 1 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI

Hall, A, C (Carolina): 2-for-3, 1 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI

Wiemer, CF (Carolina): 1-for-3, 2 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI

Holt, 2B (Carolina): 1-for-4, 0 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI

TOP PERFORMERS - PITCHERS:

Vassalotti (W, 2-3) (Carolina): 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO

Matulovich (Carolina): 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO

Long (H, 3) (Carolina): 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO

Hasler (S, 2) (Carolina): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO

Munoz (Lynchburg): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO

Benton (Lynchburg): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO

SCORING PLAYS:

Mudcats 2nd (Mudcats 2, Hillcats 0) -- Noah Campbell walks. Noah Campbell steals 2nd base. Joey Wiemer walks. Ashton McGee flies out to Petey Halpin, Noah Campbell to 3rd. Noah Campbell scores on a balk; Joey Wiemer advances to 2nd on a balk. Alex Hall singles to right field, Joey Wiemer scores. Michael Wilson strikes out swinging. Gabe Holt strikes out on foul tip.

(2 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB)

Mudcats 4th (Mudcats 4, Hillcats 0) -- Pitcher Change: Alec Wisely replaces Daniel Espino. Joey Wiemer singles through the hole at second base. Throwing error by Andres Melendez on the pickoff attempt. Ashton McGee strikes out swinging. Alex Hall singles to right field, Joey Wiemer scores; Alex Hall to 2nd. Michael Wilson struck out looking. Gabe Holt singles to right field, Alex Hall scores. Freddy Zamora grounds out, Yordys Valdes to Miguel Jerez.

(2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Errors, 1 LOB)

Hillcats 6th (Mudcats 4, Hillcats 1) -- Pitcher Change: Joey Matulovich replaces Michele Vassalotti. Angel Martinez hits a ground rule double down the left-field line. Yainer Diaz grounds out, Gabe Holt to Ashton McGee, Angel Martinez to 3rd. Johnathan Rodriguez lines out to Joey Wiemer. Miguel Jerez doubles to left-center field, Angel Martinez scores. Gabriel Rodriguez walks. Alexfri Planez walks, Miguel Jerez to 3rd; Gabriel Rodriguez to 2nd. Andres Melendez flies out to Michael Wilson.

(1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 3 LOB)

Hillcats 7th (Mudcats 4, Hillcats 2) -- Pitcher Change: Peyton Long replaces Joey Matulovich. Yordys Valdes singles to right field. Petey Halpin hit by pitch, Yordys Valdes to 2nd. Angel Martinez pops out to Freddy Zamora on the infield fly rule. Wild pitch by Peyton Long, Yordys Valdes to 3rd; Petey Halpin to 2nd. Yainer Diaz grounds out, Freddy Zamora to Ashton McGee, Yordys Valdes scores; Petey Halpin to 3rd. Johnathan Rodriguez flies out to Michael Wilson.

(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB)