
Photo via Carolina Mudcats on X
August 9th, 2025
Zebulon, NC- The Carolina Mudcats (22-14) played host to the Lynchburg Hillcats (14-23) in the first game of a Saturday evening doubleheader. The Mudcats entered tonight’s contest 2.5 games ahead of the Fredericksburg Nationals (19-17) in the second half North Division standing. The Mudcats sent Wande Torres (1-7) to the mound who entered tonight’s game with a 5.32 ERA in 64.1 innings pitched. The Hillcats sent Braylon Doughty (0-7) to the mound who entered tonight’s game with a 3.84 ERA in 77.1 innings pitched. Jesus Made and Luis Pena were promoted to High-A Wisconsin on August 5th.
The Mudcats struck in the top of the first when Jose Anderson smashed a 2-run home run to left field which gave the Mudcats a 2-0 lead. Wande Torres retired the first 14 Lynchburg batters he faced before Garrett Howe lined a single into left field. Lynchburg struck in the top of the seventh when Bennett Thompson scored on a walk by Robert Lopez which cut the deficit to 2-1. Then, Luis Merejo scored on a walk by Christopher Espinola which tied the game at 2-2. The Mudcats prevented any more damage in the seventh when Yaikel Mijares struck out swinging to Jose Nova, and the Mudcats turned a 4-3 double play that ended the inning.
Wande Torres threw 5 scoreless innings where he only allowed 1 hit. Juilo Zapata threw 2 scoreless innings where he only allowed 1 walk and 2 hits.
Lynchburg allowed 3 straight walks to Filippo Di Turi, Reece Walling, and Tyler Rodriguez to start of the bottom of the seventh. Then, Gery Holguin hit a walk off single though the middle of infield that scored Filippo Di Turi which secured the Mudcats a 3-2 win.
Jose Nova threw 1 scoreless inning where he allowed no walks and no hits.
The winning pitcher for the Mudcats was Jose Nova (2-1) for his 1 scoreless inning where he allowed no walks and no hits. The losing pitcher for the Hillcats was Luis Flores (4-2) for his performance where he allowed 3 walks and 1 hit. The Mudcats record improved to 22-14 in the second half while the Hillcats record fell to 14-23 in the second half. The Mudcats exited the first half of the doubleheader with a 3.0 game lead in the North Division second half standings. The Mudcats continue the series Saturday evening at 7:30 pm at Five County Stadium.