CarL1 Potomac Nationals

Nightmare Fourth Inning Dooms Nationals

Published on April 25, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


FREDERICK, Md. - After game one of the series between Frederick and Potomac, a 14-8 slugfest full of errors and lapses in concentration, and game two, a superb pitching duel which saw Bradley Meyers throw 7 2/3 shutout innings before native son Dan Leatherman closed out the contest, game three turned into a hybrid of the two tilts.

Reliever Carlos Martinez (0-1) got the start on the hill for the P-Nats as the visitors were going to take a pitch-by-committee approach to Saturday's game due to the schedule affected by the rainouts in the previous week. Martinez started out well with three scoreless innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth.

In the top of the frame, the P-Nats finally pushed a run across off of Keys' starter and Orioles top prospect Brian Matusz (2-1) when third baseman Stephen King launched the first pitch he saw from the southpaw over the left-center field wall to give the Nationals a short-lived 1-0 lead.

The bottom of the fourth started auspiciously with a single to right off the bat of Billy Rowell. One out was recorded with runners on first and second before catcher Wally Crancer laced a single to left to load the bases. Then the floodgates opened as the P-Nats' boat began to take on water.

The number nine hitter in the Keys' lineup, Pedro Florimon, Jr., rolled a ground ball to second baseman Dan Nelson who ranged to his right and scooped up the ball, not realizing how close he was to second base. Instead of stepping on the base himself, he flipped the ball from close range to shortstop Danny Espinosa who could not handle the high toss resulting in a costly error that could have sent the Nationals back to the dugout without any damage done.

With one run already in, the next batter Matt Angle tapped a grounder back to the pitcher Martinez who slipped when retrieving the baseball. He then tried to compensate for his fall by gunning a throw to the catcher Brian Peacock who could not come up with the throw, allowing two more runners to score. Three more runs would come across as six Keys scored runs in that fateful frame though only two runs in the inning would be earned.

Potomac fought back after the frame as a combination of relievers Andrew Kown, Clint Everts, and Martin Beno put up zeroes to keep the visitors in the ballgame, giving the offense a chance to chip away.

King became the first P-Nat to record a multi-home run game this year as he led off the sixth inning with a titanic tater off Matusz once again to cut the lead to 6-3, but that was all the Nationals could muster. They brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Aaron Seuss in the ninth, but the outfielder's long fly ball hooked foul and Lebron threw a nasty slider by Seuss to end the game.

The P-Nats and Keys will square off in the final game of this four-game set on Sunday with the first pitch slated for 2:00 ET. The P-Nats have a chance to win a series at Frederick for the first time in two years as staff ace Erik Arnesen will get the nod opposite Pedro Beato. Tune in to www.potomacnationals.com for all the action live starting with the pregame show at 1:40 ET.

For more information on daily promotions at Pfitzner Stadium, tickets, or just to check up on the stats from all your favorite P-Nats players, call (703) 590-2311 or log onto www.potomacnationals.com to join the party!

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Carolina League Stories from April 25, 2009


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