Hillcats Shutout Woodpeckers Behind Peterson's Eight Innings

The Lynchburg Hillcats picked up their third straight win over the Fayetteville Woodpeckers after a 4-0 shutout victory on Friday night.

For the second time this season, Austin Peterson threw eight complete innings in a Hillcat victory. Peterson is the first pitcher since 2018 to throw eight innings in a game.

It was a slow start tonight for both teams as they struggled to get anything going. Lynchburg would a runner on third in each of the first two innings to keep them off the board. In the third, Wuilfredo Antunez drove his second home run of the season over the right field wall to put Lynchburg in front.

The Hillcats would strike again in the fourth inning after loading the bases for the second time. Lexer Saduy, who struck out in the first opportunity, drove home two on a single to right field. One batter later, a fielder’s choice to first base would plate another run to give Lynchburg the four-run lead.

From there, the pitching staff’s would dominate the rest of the night. Peterson finished the night with four strikeouts over his eight frames. Braunny Munoz would replace him for the ninth inning and strike out the side in his inning of work.

The Hillcats improved to above .500 in the second half of the year and are now 42-44 overall.

Lynchburg and Fayetteville will square off again on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. as the Hillcats look to continue their winning streak.