Lynchburg Hillcats eliminated from playoff chase by Kannapolis, 12-3

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — The Lynchburg Hillcats were eliminated from playoff contention after a 12-3 loss to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers on Wednesday night.

Kannapolis took the lead early on and never let off the gas as the Hillcats struggled to get anything going at the plate. Lynchburg has been outscored 19-3 in the first two games of the series.

Each team would plate a run in the first inning with the Hillcats scoring on a wild pitch to bring Guy Lipscomb home. In the second inning, the Cannon Ballers would retake the lead with two more runs before a second two-run inning in the third.

The Hillcats would get two of the runs back in the bottom of the third inning thanks to Robert Lopez driving home Lipscomb on a sacrifice fly and an RBI-single from Alex Mooney that plated Jaison Chourio.

From there, it was all Kannapolis as they would score seven unanswered runs putting the game out of reach in the final few innings. The Hillcats bullpen struggled to keep it close, surrendering three home runs in the final two innings.

Lynchburg and Kannapolis finish the regular season with this series, which runs through Sunday at Bank of the James Stadium.