Timely hitting eludes Hillcats

Hillcats manager P.J. Forbes concedes his team is struggling. But he denies anyone is going through the motions, waiting for Sept. 9 to arrive.

That day, of course, is the opening day of the Carolina League playoffs. No matter what happens down the stretch, the Hillcats will start the playoffs at home that evening against whomever wins the second-half title in the Northern division.

Saturday night’s 4-2 loss to Myrtle Beach was representative of the second half of the season for the Hillcats, who struggled to get crucial hits in big spots once again. The ’Cats stranded eight baserunners and went hitless in six at-bats with men in scoring position. They lost their third straight game and fell to 19-29 since the All-Star break.

Forbes said Friday night’s 9-6 loss was a perfect example of Lynchburg’s second-half struggles. Kris Watts hit a game-tying, three-run homer in the seventh inning, but Myrtle Beach responded with a three-run shot in the top of the ninth to secure the victory.

“It’s kind of been two seasons for us in that aspect,” Forbes said. “The first half, we tie that game up late, we end up winning it. I don’t see the confidence and swagger we had in the first half.

“I want them to understand that, hey, we’re still good. Seven of the nine guys who started in the first half are still here. They’ve just got to get the belief back in themselves that they can accomplish everything that they’ve done to this point. A couple of big hits, you get that momentum going, and I think that will start the ball rolling.”

Forbes was adamant that lack of effort was not an issue with this team. No one is playing out the string waiting for the playoffs to begin. There’s too much at stake for some of the players on the roster for that to occur.

Jamie Romak, whose stint in Double-A Altoona in the first half of the season was a disaster, may be playing for his organizational life. The same goes for pitcher Ronald Uviedo, who is on the Pirates’ 40-man roster but has struggled through injuries and ineffectiveness in the second half of the season.

“You’ve got to have the want to get that going before you get into the playoffs,” Watts said. “You can’t just go in cold turkey.”

The Hillcats again proved to be slump busters for Myrtle Beach starter Cole Rohrbough, who gave up 11 earned runs in nine innings in two starts previous to facing Lynchburg twice. Last week on the Grand Strand, Rohrbough held the Cats to three hits and an earned run in five innings. Saturday, Lynchburg mustered five hits and an earned run in six innings.

For the year, Rohrbough is 5-7 with a 5.76 ERA. In three starts against Lynchburg, he’s 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA.

Down two runs in the eighth, the Hillcats had a chance to get back into the game, putting runners on first and second with one out. The Pelicans brought in closer Corey Gearrin, who forced Matt Hague into a flyout to center and struck Watts out swinging. Lynchburg’s Eric Fryer reached on an error with one out in the ninth, but Jose De Los Santos hit into a fielder’s choice, and Fryer was forced out at second. Chase d’Arnaud then grounded out to short, ending the threat.