Simmons' seven RBIs help Hillcats outlast Kinston

Andrelton Simmons has hit in the No. 2 spot in the Hillcats’ lineup in 79 of his 106 games this season, so he hasn’t had a ton of opportunities to produce runs. That’s been true throughout his professional career. Before Monday night, he’d never driven in more than two runs in a game. The last time he had a night like he did against Kinston, when he drove in seven runs in an 11-6 Hillcats’ victory?

"Maybe in college," Simmons said.

Simmons set a Hillcats season high for RBIs in a game, bettering Braeden Schlehuber’s six-RBI effort from earlier this year. And it came in the longest game of the season for the Hillcats, a 3-hour, 28-minute slog that featured 23 hits, five errors, 17 runs and the ejection of a pitcher who had already come out of the game.

In the ninth inning, after Hillcats reliever Eliecer Cardenas caught Adam Abraham looking a third strike, Kinston’s Trey Haley yapped at home-plate umpire Aaron Roberts from the dugout, and Roberts tossed Haley before Abraham could even get back to the bench.

The last Hillcat to drive in seven in a single game was Pedro Alvarez, who pulled the trick in Kinston on June 15, 2009. Simmons’ barrage started innocuously enough, as he reached on an error in the third inning but was credited with an RBI because L.V. Ware was breaking home from third on the play.

In the fourth, Simmons hit a two-run single to score Marcus Lemon and Keenan Wiley, giving Lynchburg a short-lived 5-3 lead. Kinston recovered for three runs in the fifth to go ahead 6-5, but the Hillcats responded again in the sixth.

Simmons came to the plate with two outs and runners at first and second, and he ripped a 1-1 Haley slider to left-center field for a two-run triple. Shortstop Casey Frawley tried to nail Simmons at third, but the throw went wide, and Simmons scored on the error to put Lynchburg up 8-6.

Then with two outs in the seventh, Simmons hit a two-run single to push the lead to 11-6 and put the game out of reach.

"It’s just executing," Simmons said. "I’ve been working on letting the ball get deep and just trusting my hands. I’ve been trying to do that lately, and it’s been paying off."

The Hillcats needed Simmons’ effort on a night when the pitching staff struggled. Chris Masters threw 96 pitches and labored through four plus innings, allowing nine hits, six runs (five earned) while walking three and striking out one. For the second straight night, the Lynchburg bullpen came through in a big way. Andrew Wilson allowed all three runners he inherited to score, but he struck out five in three scoreless innings. Cardenas struck out five in two innings and lowered his season ERA to 0.81.

Simmons went 3-for-5, and Barrett Kleinknecht, Christian Bethancourt and Keenan Wiley each had two hits.