Things went about as well Sunday for the Hillcats as they possibly could as Lynchburg drubbed Wilmington 14-2 at City Stadium.

It was a classic case of putting quality ahead quantity. No, the Hillcats didn’t rip the cover off the ball Saturday evening at City Stadium. Of their nine hits in a 6-3 win over Wilmington, only two went for extra bases.

Brian Friday offers a plausible explanation for the Hillcats’ early-season hitting troubles.

The record belied the talent. It was April of 1983 and the Lynchburg Mets, the first — and arguably greatest — minor league team the Mets machine of the early-’80s rolled off the assembly line and into this city, inauspiciously stumbled out of the blocks.

Lynchburg picked up its first win of the 2008 season Sunday as Hillcats starter Michael Crotta was nearly perfect through almost seven innings and the offense exploded for nine runs against Frederick in a 9-3 victory.

The power hitters? They’re gone. Steve Pearce, Jason Delaney and Brad Corley have all moved up in the Pirates’ system.

If the word “bonds” slips out around a baseball diamond, at best, you will likely get a few aggravated moans, thanks to the recent scandal involving one the game’s biggest stars — Barry Bonds. But at its best, at its heart, the game of baseball has and will be about the social bonds developed on the diamond that can span lifetimes. A perfect example is a group of six friends who starred in the Seminole District at the turn of the century.