CarL1 Potomac Nationals

P-Nats Break Out Brooms to Regain Divison Lead

Published on August 16, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


WILMINGTON, De- In a series that could have made or broken the Potomac Nationals season, the P-Nats raised a ruckus against the first-place Wilmington Blue Rocks, rolling into Frawley Stadium and sweeping a three-game series to reclaim their post at the top of the Carolina League Northern Division. In the finale of the series, bonus baseball would be needed to decide a winner, but a 10th inning triple from Jesus Valdez plated the go-ahead run as Dan Leatherman shut the door to give the P-Nats a 4-3 victory and a half-game lead in the race for the final playoff spot of the season.

Will Atwood began the game on the mound for the Nationals, and the lefty rebounded from a couple tough outings against the Frederick Keys, going five innings allowing two runs on five hits while striking out seven batters in the process. Atwood left the game with the lead after the fifth inning but did not factor into the decision in this contest.

The P-Nats drew first blood by plating a single run in the fourth inning. Michael Martinez led off the frame with a double off top prospect Michael Montgomery, and the speedy leadoff man came around to score on a two-out line drive single into right field by Michael Burgess to give the P-Nats an early advantage.

Wilmington took advantage of some defensive miscues by the P-Nats in the fifth frame, plating two runs of their own on a missed catch error and a wild pitch to give the home team the lead off the lefty Atwood.

But the P-Nats would respond with two of their own in the top half of the sixth inning thanks to a couple of speedsters in their starting lineup. Boomer Whiting took the first pitch he saw from Montgomery over the head of Derrick Robinson in centerfield for a leadoff triple, his third triple of the week, to get the ball rolling for the Potomac offense. Martinez knocked a ground ball that reached the outfield grass to score Whiting to knot the game at two. A Jesus Valdez single put runners on the corners with two down in the inning and Chris Marrero lined a single to center to give the P-Nats a 3-2 lead.

Derrick Robinson, an unlikely power threat for the Blue Rocks, stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning and took an elevated fastball from Jesse Estrada just over the right field wall for a home run to knot the game at three apiece and extra innings were on the horizon for these two teams.

The P-Nats, 10-2 in extra-inning games coming into play on Sunday, did not waste much time in re-gaining the lead once the game went into extras. Martinez led off with a double down the left field line, capping off a 3-for-3 day at the plate in which the leadoff hitter reached base all five times, and was sacrificed to third base by Danny Espinosa to set the stage for Valdez.

Valdez then blasted an outside pitch from Rocks closer Brandon Sisk (2-3) into the right-center field gap for a triple to score Martinez with the team's fourth run to give the P-Nats a 4-3 advantage.

Dan Leatherman (6-1), in his third inning of work, mowed down the heart of the Wilmington lineup, freezing Jamar Walton on a beautiful backdoor breaking ball to end the ballgame, giving the P-Nats a three-game sweep and a half-game lead in the division.

Potomac might want to consider making Wilmington a permanent second-home for the team, going 9-1 at Frawley Stadium in the 2009 season.

The P-Nats take a day off on Monday before continuing their road trip with a four-game series with Winston-Salem starting with a Tuesday doubleheader. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 6 ET. You can catch all the action live on www.potomacnationals.com with Dan McGinn and Anthony Masterson starting with the pregame show at 5:40 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 16, 2009


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