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CarL1 Potomac Nationals

Nats Epic Comeback Falls Short in Kinston

August 29, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


KINSTON, NC- For the second consecutive night, the P-Nats found themselves in an immense hole in the early innings, reminiscent of the movie Groundhog's Day, but there was nothing funny about this film for the Nationals, falling behind 8-0 after two innings after a 7-0 deficit after the first in game one. But game two had a different feel to it as the P-Nats nearly put together an epic comeback in this contest, pulling within two runs late in the ballgame before Kinston managed to hold on, securing a 10-7 victory.

The K-Tribe took an early lead on one swing of the bat from designated hitter Ole Sheldon who began a big day at the plate with a three-run jack off Potomac starter Trevor Holder (2-2). Roman Pena added another two-run blast in the first to push the Indian lead to 6-0 which they would increase to 8-0 an inning later with a Cord Phelps solo shot in addition to a Ron Rivas RBI single.

But that was when the P-Nats' bats awoke from their slumber in the form of three booming home runs into the North Carolina night, silencing the raucous crowd at Grainger Stadium.

Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Brian Peacock in the fourth inning, and the catcher delivered a massive grand slam over the left field wall to cut the K-Tribe lead in half at 8-4. For Peacock, it was his first grand slam since April 13, 2008 which, coincidentally, came at the expense of the Kinston Indians.

After Peacock's long ball, Sheldon once again came through for the K-Tribe, lifting his second home run of the night off reliever Hassan Pena to get one of those runs back to make the lead 9-4. Sheldon finished the game 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI.

Looking to continue their comeback, Jesus Valdez extended his career high in home runs with a two-run blast, his seventh of the season, to cut into the deficit, and Peacock took an 0-2 pitch off reliever Dave Roberts deep over the right-center field wall for his second home run of the evening to nearly complete the P-Nat comeback at 9-7.

On the day, Peacock went 2-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI and the catcher now has seven home runs on the season which ties him with Valdez and Tim Pahuta for third on the team.

Both bullpens would quiet down this back-and-forth affair, putting up zeroes the rest of the way with the exception being the K-Tribe scratching out a single run in the bottom of the 8th to push the advantage to 10-7 which is where the score would stay as Kyle Landis slammed the door for his eighth save of the season.

The P-Nats caught a break when the Wilmington Blue Rocks blew a 3-0 lead late in the ballgame to lose to Salem 4-3. The loss keeps the P-Nats three games back of the first-place Blue Rocks with eight games left on the schedule.

These two teams will be back here on Sunday afternoon for a 2 ET start. You can catch all the action live on www.potomacnationals.com with Dan McGinn and Anthony Masterson starting with the pregame show at 1:40 ET.

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 August 29, 2009


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