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Potomac Nationals

Crooked Numbers Doom Nats in Loss to Cats

September 3, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


WOODBRIDGE, Va- With the Wilmington Blue Rocks finding losses difficult to find, the Potomac Nationals needed to pull out victories in each of their final five games, but the task of making it back to the Carolina League playoffs became that much harder on Thursday night when the Lynchburg Hillcats took the rubber matchup of their three-game series by the score of 11-6.

An inability to avoid the big inning led Trevor Holder to struggle in his sixth Carolina League start, though his defense could not pick him up in crucial situations. Holder (2-3) went 4 1/3 innings giving up eight runs (six earned) on seven hits while striking out three.

The P-Nats staked Holder to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on the strength of two solo home runs, one apiece of the bats of Michael Martinez and Jesus Valdez. For Martinez, it was his fourth round tripper of the season while Valdez extended his season-high to eight long balls.

The Hillcats nabbed those runs right back, however, on an Alex Presley triple and a single off the bat of Jose De Los Santos to tie the game at two apiece.

A solo home run from Brian Peacock, his eighth of the year, in the second inning gave the P-Nats a short-lived 3-2 advantage, but the Hillcats re-gained the lead in the top of the third on two unearned runs.

With the Lynchburg lead at 4-3, the team would add five more in the top of the fifth to put the game out of reach. The Cats bashed back-to-back home runs off Holder which pushed the lead to 9-3.

The Nats were not done, however, striking back in the bottom of the fifth for three runs with two outs on a Devin Ivany RBI single and a Tim Pahuta two-run base knock.

After cutting the game to 9-6, the Cats responded right away with two more runs to extend the advantage to 11-6 which is where the game would stay. Mike Colla (6-2) tossed two scoreless frames to pick up the win. Four errors in this ballgame doomed the P-Nats, and on the offensive end, the team was just 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

The P-Nats now sit at four games behind the first-place Blue Rocks with four games left to play. The P-Nats do own the tiebreaker with the Blue Rocks for the final playoff spot should the two teams end the season in a virtual deadlock.

Potomac welcomes in the Kinston Indians to the Pfitz for the final series of the regular season starting Friday night. For Freebie Friday, the first 1,000 fans through the gates for the 7:05 ET start time will receive a 2nd Half Potomac Nationals Team Picture courtesy of Goetz Printing. Teens, remember to bring your PRTC Teen Summer Pass to receive $1 off all grandstand tickets on Fridays for the rest of the regular season. And of course, kids run the bases after the ballgame courtesy of Glory Days Grill.

Also, be sure to come out to the ballpark and see the Washington Nationals roving, interactive recreational vehicle, the NatMobile!

For more information on tickets, daily promotions, and all things P-Nats, call (703) 590-2311 or log onto www.potomacnationals.com to join the party!

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Carolina League Stories from September 3, 2009


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