With four runs over the first two innings, the Potomac Nationals (30-26) eased their way to a 9-3 victory over the Lynchburg Hillcats (26-30) on Friday night. A pair of runs in each of the first two frames were enough for the victory, while the offense consistently produced throughout the night, with at least one run in five different innings.
Potomac forced RHP Eli Morgan (L, 2-1) into his shortest start of the season, thanks in large part to two-out hitting in the first frame. After Morgan quickly retired the first two batters of the night, DH Alec Keller and 3B Jake Noll connected with back-to-back singles. After LF Jack Sundberg walked, C Tres Barrera made it 2-0 with a two-run single to centerfield. In the following frame, SS Carter Kieboom made it 3-0 on a sacrifice fly, while a missed catch error by RF Trenton Brooks allowed CF Blake Perkins to score on a fly ball hit by DH Alec Keller. That proved to be the game-winning play, as the Potomac pitching staff allowed just two earned runs in the victory.
RHP Wil Crowe (W, 8-0) battled throughout his start, as he had just one perfect frame, his first inning of the night. In the home half of the second inning, the Hillcats got a leadoff double from CF Jodd Carter, who scored two batters later on an RBI double by C Li-Jen Chu. The Hillcats left Chu at second base in the frame, left men on the corners in the third inning, a runner on base in the fourth frame, and men on the corners in the fifth inning. Lynchburg went just 2-10 with RISP and left 11 men on base in the loss.
Both sides scratched across a run in the fifth inning, as a sacrifice fly from Sundberg made it 5-1 Potomac, while the Hillcats responded with a sacrifice fly from Carter in the home half of the frame. The P-Nats led 5-2 after five innings. Potomac got a leadoff home run from RF Rhett Wiseman in the sixth inning, his 11th home run of the season, second most in the Carolina League.
With the game nearly out of reach, Potomac put it completely out of reach with three runs, all unearned, against RHP Dalbert Siri in the ninth inning. Errors by Carter and 3B Jorma Rodriguez led to all three runs. Sundberg picked up an RBI on a groundout, a run scored on Carter’s error, while Wiseman’s two-out RBI single made it 9-2. The Hillcats picked up a run in the final frame against LHP Jordan Mills, as Carter wrapped up the scoring with a two-out RBI single, which made it 9-3, the eventual final.
Paired with a loss by the Salem Red Sox, Potomac now sits 2.5 games clear of the Red Sox in the Northern Division playoff race. Potomac is also now 4.0 games ahead of the Hillcats with just 12 games to play in the first half.
Potomac and Lynchburg are set to play a doubleheader on Saturday. In game one, RHP Joan Baez (2-4, 4.82) will get the nod for Potomac, while Lynchburg will try to snap a five-game losing streak with RHP Justin Garza (2-3, 4.65). In game two, LHP Ben Braymer (1-1, 3.21) is set to start for the P-Nats, while RHP Zach Plesac (3-2, 4.30) is slated to get the ball for the Hillcats.
First pitch at Calvin Falwell Field on Saturday afternoon is set for 4:00pm. The Potomac broadcast will get underway at 3:45pm with the P-Nats Leadoff Show. You can listen to the Potomac broadcast at potomacnationals.com or on the TuneIn Radio App.
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