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CarL1 Potomac Nationals

Bases-Loaded Walk Gives Sox 4-3 Win, Sweep

August 4, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


(SALEM, VA) Josh Smoker's bases-loaded walk of former Nationals' farmhand Alex Valdez handed the Salem Red Sox a 4-3 win in the tenth inning on Thursday night at LewisGale Field and earned the Sox a sweep in the three-game series.

The Nationals blew two separate leads in the ball game - leads they gained in large part because of a fantastic night at the plate by Sandy Leon. Leon's home run in the second inning staked Potomac to a 1-0 lead, and his double in the sixth pushed the Nats ahead 3-1.

On both occasions, the Sox erased the lead (which might have been larger were it not for a questionable call at home plate that led to the ejection of Nationals manager Matt LeCroy). In the fifth, the Nats loaded the bases with no outs. Ryan Pressly threw a fastball to the backstop. Cutter Dykstra, who had reached on one of Salem Shortstop Derrik Gibson's three errors, sprinted home. His foot-first slide appeared to beat Pressly's tag, but Dykstra was called out. LeCroy argued with home plate umpire Matt Jones and was tossed. Potomac did score their second run in the inning when Jeff Kobernus hit a ground ball to short; again it was misplayed by Gibson and scored Eury Perez.

Salem tied the game in the third on a Cameron Selik wild pitch, and again in the sixth thanks to Selik's inability to put hitters away in a two-strike count. Peter HIssey led off the inning and fell behind 0-2, but was hit by the next pitch. Selik then worked ahead of Kolbrin Vitek 1-2, but Vitek doubled to left. With one out, Miles Head doubled on a 2-2 pitch to tie the game at three.

It would stay that way until the tenth thanks to good relief work by Marcos Frias and Hector Nelo for Potomac and Chris Martin and Tom Ebert for Salem.

Potomac failed to score after a leadoff double in the ninth; Destin Hood hit a solid line drive to center with two outs but Hissey tracked it down.

In the last of the tenth, Smoker got Vitek to ground out to open the inning. He also hit 100 miles-per-hour on the radar gun on the first pitch of the inning. But Brentz then singled to left, and after Smoker fell behind Head 2-0, he intentionally walked the Sox first baseman. Shannon Wilkerson then smashed a 3-1 offering on a line to short; it clipped off Zach Walters glove and into left (had he made the tough catch it would have been an easy inning-ending double play). With the bases loaded, he then walked Valdez on five pitches to end the affair.

The Nationals (50-58) turn to Adam Olbrychowski Friday night in Myrtle Beach to snap a three-game losing streak at 7:05.

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