Gameday Magazine June

NEWCOMERS BECOME FRONT RUNNERS On the pitching side, the Hillcats made several additions in the month of May, and each player has impressed. James Karinchak joined the team at the beginning of the month, and in eight outings did not allow an earned run. The right-hander has served as the team’s closer since his promotion from Single-A Lake County, picking up four saves, and holding opponents to a .167 average. He has struck out 15 batters in nine innings of work. Felix Tati has impressed in the rotation. In four starts in May, he posted a 2-1 record and a 3.27 ERA. Tati has a knack for working around trouble and out of jams, allowing only 8 of his 29 baserunners to come around to score. Finally, after pitching to a 1.83 ERA in Lake County, Eli Morgan got the call-up to Lynchburg midway through the month. The righty has shown no signs of slowing down at the Advanced-A level, going 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA in three starts since his pro- motion. He has struck out 18 while walking just three in 18.1 innings of work. ROLLER-COASTER RIDE The Hillcats have enjoyed high peaks and suffered through low valleys throughout the season, and the month of May was no exception. They dropped nine of 11 games from April 27-May 8, hitting .205 with a 5.59 ERA. The Hillcats would rebound, win- ning eight of their next nine games from May 9-20, hitting .340 as a team, with six home runs. Most recently, the Hillcats closed the month losing seven of ten, striking out 108 times, and hitting just .207 over that stretch. RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY If there was one consistency in the month of May, it was the rain. The Hillcats suf- fered four rain delays, three postponements, and a cancellation with the Buies Creek Astros. So far, Mother Nature showed no let-up to begin the month of June, forcing another postponement and cancellation in the Hillcats series against the Keys to open the month.