Potomac (7-5-Overall, 4-1-Road) got back into the win column on Monday night, defeating the Wilmington Blue Rocks (6-5-Overall, 3-2-Home) at Judy Johnson Field 3-1 to claim game one of the three game set.
RHP Nick Pivetta (1-1, 0.53) toed the rubber for the third time this season still looking for his first win of the season.
Opposing Pivetta was RHP Jakob Junis (1-2, 5.06) who was making his third start of the season and first home start of the campaign.
After a scoreless first inning on both sides of the diamond C Spencer Kieboom went deep, a line shot down the left field line, for his first home run of the season and a 1-0 P-Nats lead.
Pivetta put up zeros on the board through the first three frames, allowing just three hits and two walks to Wilmington.
Potomac put up two more runs in the top of third with one out SS Wilmer Difo doubled. 2B Khayyan Norfork was hit by a pitch and CF Isaac Ballou knocked in his sixth run of the season with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead. Kieboom came up and knocked in his second run of the ball game and ninth RBI of the season with a single for a 3-0 P-Nats lead.
Nick Pivetta did the rest for Potomac retiring 13 Blue Rocks in a row from the final out in the third stanza until he was lifted from the ballgame after seven complete frames. Pivetta’s final line was sparkling, 7.0 innings pitched allowing no runs on two hits, two walks and he struck out five, earning his first victory of the season. In 17.0 innings pitched Pivetta has now allowed one run on eight hits, five walks and he has struck out 16.
RHP Dakota Bacus (SV 2) entered in the eighth and ran into a bump. He issued a one-out walk to RF Daniel Rocket and then three straight singles followed, including an RBI infield single by CF Bubba Starling to cut the lead to 3-1 Potomac.
Bacus returned for the ninth inning and retired the Blue Rocks one, two, three to earn his second save of the season in as many attempts, sealing the 3-1 game one win.
Game two of the series is at 6:35 pm from Judy Johnson Field at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. Potomac will look to win their second consecutive series and wrap up their first road trip of the season with a winning record. Potomac will send RHP Brian Rauh (1-0, 0.84) to the mound against LHP Cody Reed (2-0, 1.00) for Wilmington.
First pitch is at 6:35 pm from Judy Johnson Field and the “P-Nats Lead-Off Show” will kick the broadcast off at 6:20 pm from the Brixx Box.
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