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Potomac Nationals

P-Nats and P-Cans Split Saturday Double Dip

June 6, 2009 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


WOODBRIDGE, Va- The P-Nats and Pelicans finally got to play baseball for the first time in this series on Saturday night after the first two contests were postponed by Mother Nature's unrelenting fury. The P-Nats nearly pulled off an improbable comeback in game one, falling just short 7-6. They were able to bounce back, however, by taking game two 5-3 with a couple of big blasts and a clutch hit from Stephen King.

Game one saw the Pelicans stave off a furious P-Nats rally in the bottom of the seventh inning in a game characterized by a couple of tough bounces that went against the home team. Chad Lundahl's high chopper through a drawn-in infield in the fourth inning pushed the Pelican advantage to 4-1 and pushed P-Nats starter Will Atwood to the breaking point. Atwood (1-5) bent but did not break, in fact, and kept the team in the ballgame. Atwood went six innings, taking the hard-luck loss as the Pelicans tacked on three more runs in the top of the seventh inning.

Cody Johnson had a big day for Myrtle Beach, belting his 18th home run in the second inning which leads the Carolina League by a large margin. He also tacked on an RBI single in the fourth.

When the Pelicans took a 7-2 advantage in the top of the seventh and two outs were recorded in the bottom half of the frame, the contest seemed all but lost. The P-Nats had one last fight in them, however, as they nearly completed an improbable comeback on the Pelican 'pen. Stephen King had the big blast with a three run home run, his fourth of the season, to make it a bit more interesting at 7-5. After consecutive doubles by Tim Pahuta and Dan Nelson made it 7-6, Mike Mehlich was summoned from the bullpen to douse the flames and save the day, and he responded by striking out Boomer Whiting to end the game.

In game two, the Pelicans drew first blood as two runs came around to score on a Danny Espinosa error to take a 2-0 lead in the second inning. The P-Nats would respond in a powerful way in the bottom half of the frame as Michael Burgess slammed his 10th home run of the season only to be followed by Tim Pahuta's two-run bomb to give the P-Nats a 3-2 advantage.

Potomac was robbed of a pair of runs on a spectacular diving, over-the-shoulder catch by Pelican right fielder Jon Mark Owings on a drive hit by Brian Peacock in the fourth inning. That kept the game 3-2 and Myrtle Beach would notch the equalizer in the following frame on a sacrifice fly by Freddie Freeman.

That is where the score would stay until the bottom of the sixth when Stephen King capped off a solid day at the plate by roping a single to left field to bring home Chris Marrero with the go-ahead run. Peacock would add to the P-Nat advantage with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-3.

Atahualpa Severino (2-0) would shut down the Pelicans in the late frames, pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings and Cole Kimball would come on to record the final out for his fifth save of the year, stranding the tying runs in scoring position.

Come to the ballpark Sunday afternoon for the second doubleheader in as many days from Pfitzner Stadium. Sunday's double dip will begin at 1:05 ET with the gates opening at noon. It will be a very special day at Pfitzner Stadium as the P-Nats will present "Step Up to the Plate- Register to Donate" supported by Astellas Pharma US, Inc. in partnership with Donate Life where fans will have the opportunity to register to become an organ donor and learn more information on how you could help somebody in need. In addition, the first 1,000 fans will receive P-Nats logo baseballs!

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 June 6, 2009


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