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CarL1 Salem Red Sox

Salem Completes Sweep with Walk-Off Win

August 4, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Salem Red Sox News Release


Salem, VA (August 4, 2011) - With the bases packed in the last of the tenth, Alex Valdez watched a Josh Smoker fastball sail outside, forcing home Bryce Brentz and making the Salem Sox 4-3 victors on Thursday night at LewisGale Field. Salem prevailed despite making a slew of errors and stranding 11 men on base, overcoming their mistakes and missed chances to sweep the three-game series over Potomac. It was Salem's first extra-inning triumph since June 5, snapping a skid of six straight losses in bonus baseball.

The last of the tenth was made possible in part by Tom Ebert's historic effort in the top of the frame. In his second inning of relief, Ebert struck out four straight P-Nats in the top of the tenth, inducing swings and misses from Justin Bloxom, Zach Walters, Sandy Leon, and Jose Lozada. With two outs, Leon advanced to first on a wild pitch, but Ebert bounced back and whiffed Lozada to pick up his fourth consecutive punchout.

With one out in the bottom of the tenth, Brentz singled to left and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. The Nationals chose to intentionally walk Miles Head, and the bases became packed when Shannon Wilkerson's laser-beam line drive was mishandled by Zach Walters at short. Wilkerson was credited with a single, and Valdez worked a five-pitch walk to end the game, sending the crowd of 4,269 into a celebration.

Leon led the Nationals with three hits, including a solo homer that vaulted the P-Nats to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. But Salem quickly evened the score when David Mailman walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch in the last of the third. The Nationals surged to a 3-1 lead with single tallies in the fifth and sixth innings, but the Sox responded with the tying runs in the last of the sixth, thanks to a pair of RBI doubles from Kolbrin Vitek and Head.

In the six half-innings from the seventh to the ninth, the squads had the potential go-ahead runs in scoring position five times, but the game remained even at three into the tenth. After winning the first two games of the series by a combined score of 13-1, the Red Sox squeaked by in the finale, completing the sweep with their first walk-off win since Dan Butler's Memorial Day walk-off grand slam against Lynchburg.

The Sox won despite making four errors, including a season-high three from shortstop Derrik Gibson. But Gibson also mustered two hits and a walk to lead the Salem offense. Vitek also went 2-4 with a walk to pace the Sox.

The Red Sox hope to ride the accrued momentum into the upcoming road trip, a six-game swing through Kinston and Potomac that begins on Friday in North Carolina. Salem makes its final trip to face the K-Tribe at Historic Grainger Stadium, with Drake Britton set to oppose Clayton Cook in the opener, set for 6:30 on Friday evening.

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