CarL1 Potomac Nationals

Nats Split Double Dip With Dash

Published on August 18, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


WINSTON-SALEM, NC- Clinging to the slightest of advantages in the dogfight towards the final playoff spot in the 2009 regular season, the Potomac Nationals squared off in a crucial doubleheader with the Winston-Salem Dash from Wake Forest Baseball Park on Tuesday evening. A gem of a performance by Adam Carr propelled the P-Nats in game one, but an equally dominant outing from Dash starter Dylan Axelrod in game two left the P-Nats with a split in Winston-Salem.

In game one, Wake Forest Baseball Park's small dimensions did not come into play as Adam Carr made sure that the Winston-Salem offense stayed stifled throughout the entire seven innings. The veteran right-hander pitched the best game as a professional, going a career-high seven innings in a complete game effort, allowing just one run on four hits. Carr (2-4) struck out two and did not walk a batter en route to earning just the third complete game for a Potomac Nationals pitcher in 2009, the first since Colton Willems tossed six frames against the Dash back on May 10.

At one point in the game, Carr set down 12 consecutive Dash batters, throwing first pitch strikes with effortless consistency.

With Carr mowing down the Dash, the Potomac offense did not have to muster much to emerge victorious in game one. The P-Nats actually fell behind in this contest on a Greg Paiml bloop single down the right-field line in the third inning, taking an early 1-0 lead on Carr and the Nationals.

But it was short-lived as the Nats would respond in the top of the fourth on a Tim Pahuta sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, knotting the game at one and giving Pahuta 11 RBI in just eight at bats with the sacks packed. The offense would tack on the go-ahead run on a solo blast from the number nine hitter in the lineup, Boomer Whiting, who connected on a fastball from Levi Maxwell (4-13) for his third home run of the year and the 100th total for the Nationals.

Some excellent baserunning on the part of Devin Ivany gave the P-Nats a much needed insurance run in the top of the seventh inning. After leading off the frame with a double, a Hector Santiago pitch got by catcher Logan Johnson and hit the backstop to allow Ivany to advance to third. When Ivany noticed that Santiago was not covering home, the catcher sprinted home much to the surprise of both Santiago and Johnson to push the advantage to 3-1 which would be more than enough for Carr in game one.

In game two it was Winston-Salem's turn to hand in a dominant pitching performance as Dylan Axelrod, making just his second Carolina League start, enjoyed one of the best starts of his career after coming over from the San Diego Padres organization. On the day, Axelrod (1-1) went six shutout innings, surrendering just three hits while striking out eight. Axelrod set down nine in a row at one point and the P-Nats only had one baserunner reach second base in the second contest.

The lone Dash runs came across in the first inning off reliever Patrick McCoy (0-2), who was making his first Carolina League start. Leadoff hitter Dale Mollenhauer reached on a dropped pop fly to begin the game and advanced to second base on a walk to Tyler Kuhn. A Brent Morel RBI single drove in Mollenhauer and Seth Loman would launch a deep fly ball that fell into the glove of right fielder Jesus Valdez, but another run would score to make the lead 2-0.

Both runs in the inning were unearned.

With the P-Nats mustering just three hits on the day, the team was unable to manufacture any rallies against Axelrod and Dash closer Santo Luis who struck out the side to end the ballgame.

These two teams will be back for game three of this four-game set tomorrow evening with first pitch scheduled for 7 ET. You can catch all the action live on www.potomacnationals.com with Dan McGinn and Anthony Masterson starting with the pregame show at 6:40 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 18, 2009


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