CarL1 Potomac Nationals

P-Nats dish out pummeling of Pelicans

Published on July 27, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Potomac Nationals News Release


WOODBRIDGE, Va- After a string of close games, the P-Nats needed to have a game where everything clicked offensively and the team could breathe easy with a blowout victory. The Nationals got their wish on Monday night at Pfitzner Stadium as a strong showing from Tom Milone on the hill and a lumber eruption paced Potomac as the team held off a late Pelican rally to take game one of their three game set, 14-9.

As the P-Nats tied their season-high in runs (14) and hits (15), Tom Milone was nearly flawless on the hill. The lefty allowed just one run on six hits while striking out a pair of Pelicans. By improving to 6-4 on the season, Milone (6-4) moved into a tie for the team-lead in wins with fellow southpaw Will Atwood.

But the Southern California native was the beneficiary of an offensive outburst rarely seen at Pfitzner Stadium this season. Chris Marrero got the scoring started with an RBI double in the bottom of the second inning, and the P-Nats would push the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the third, plating two more runs on a pair of Pelican errors. All in all, Myrtle Beach committed four errors in the game.

The Nationals would make this a rout in the middle innings, pushing two more across in the fourth, four in the sixth, and five additional tallies in the seventh inning. Three separate P-Nats players notched three hits (Michael Martinez, Chris Marrero, and Jesus Valdez) while Michael Burgess and Danny Espinosa recorded multi-hit affairs.

No home runs were hit, but the team knocked four doubles, two by Marrero who finished the day 3-for-4 with four RBI to pace the ballclub.

With the game well in hand as the P-Nats took a 14-1 lead in the eighth inning, Trent Jewett went to the bullpen to finish out the contest, and the Pelicans managed a rally of their own. Myrtle Beach knocked eight hits in the final two frames, tallying eight runs and putting P-Nats fans a bit on-edge. But Martin Beno came on to record the final two outs, getting Chris Shehan swinging to end the game.

The P-Nats moved to 21-10 in the second half, tops in the Carolina League and maintained their 4 1/2 game lead on the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

These two teams come back to the Pfitz tomorrow for game two with first pitch slated for 7:05 ET.

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Carolina League Stories from July 27, 2009


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