BY TIM HAYES
Bristol Herald Courier
Former Sullivan East High School star Nick Hill made perhaps the biggest step in his journey through the Seattle Mariners’ minor league system earlier this week.
Hill was promoted to the Class AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx and made his first appearance for the Southern League team on Tuesday.
Hill was 1-6 with a 4.52 ERA at High-Class A High Desert of the California League. He appeared in 18 games (10 starts) for High Desert.
The left-hander struggled in his debut with West Tennessee on Tuesday against the Tennessee Smokies, allowing four runs on three hits in 1 1/3 innings of work out of the bullpen. He issued one walk and also had a strikeout.
Doug Deeds was his first strikeout victim at the Class AA level. The biggest hit Hill allowed was a two-run home run by Welington Castillo.
Hill was a seventh-round selection by Seattle in the 2007 MLB Amateur Draft after a record-breaking career at the U.S. Military Academy.
Another Save for Mobley
Chris Mobley (Dobyns-Bennett) notched his 11th save of the season in impressive fashion on Tuesday night.
Mobley struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth inning to preserve Class AA Carolina’s 9-8 Southern League victory over the Huntsville Stars.
Mobley whiffed Matt LaPorta, Cole Gillespie and Mike Bell to end the game and continue his successful season. In 28 games with the Mudcats, the right-hander is 3-1 with 11 saves and a 2.78 ERA.
He’s struck out 36 batters in 32 1/3 innings of work.
Ex-Bearcat Batters
Former Virginia High star Tyler Belcher had two hits, including his first triple of the season, for the Low-Class A Greensboro Grasshoppers on Wednesday afternoon in their South Atlantic League clash with the West Virginia Power.
Belcher is hitting .250 with four RBIs and 10 runs scored in 19 games for Greensboro.
Belcher’s former Virginia High teammate – outfielder C.J. Lee – is hitting .238 with one home run and 18 RBIs for the Low-Class A Rome (Ga.) Braves. Lee has scored 18 runs and stolen nine bases.
First baseman Kevin Barker, the other VHS graduate currently in the minors, has compiled a .254 batting average with 10 homers and 42 RBIs for the Class AAA Louisville Bats.
In his last 10 games, Barker is hitting .324 with three home runs and 11 RBIs.
Calicutt Out
Former East Tennessee State University pitcher Steven Calicutt is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.
Calicutt was 2-3 with a 4.25 ERA in 10 games (eight starts) for the Low-Class A Augusta (Ga.) GreenJackets at the time of his injury. Augusta is an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
“It’s devastating,” Calicutt told the Spartanburg Herald Journal. “I’m going to give it my best shot. I’ll be able to pitch again. It will just be a long time.”
thayes@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2570
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