P-Nats even series
The Frederick Keys held the Potomac Nationals’ offense in check for seven innings, and stood six outs away from the Carolina League championship series. But Potomac rallied for six runs in the eighth and came from behind for a 6-1 win that sent the Northern Division Series to a deciding Game Five Monday in Frederick.
Ryohei Tanaka kept the Nationals at bay for six innings; he allowed just two hits and departed with Frederick in front 1-0. Justin Moore retired the Nationals in the seventh, but hit a wall in the eighth.
Eury Perez bounced a single on the infield to start the inning before Francisco Soriano walked. Jeff Kobernus squared to bunt, and was hit by a pitch on the right wrist to load the bases. With the infield drawn in, Destin Hood bounced a single through the middle into centerfield to give the Nationals the lead. Jose Lozada then singled two home, and a Zach Walters triple to right field made it 6-1.
Adam Olbrychowski kept the Nationals in the game with an outstanding start. He went five and a third innings, allowed just one run on six hits and struck out five. The Keys only run came in the fourth, when Brian Ward singled home Mike Flacco.
Neil Holland, Joe Testa and Cameron Selik kept it a 1-0 ball game before the offense went to work in the eighth.
Hector Nelo came on in the ninth. He allowed a one-out double to Ward but retired Glynn Davis and Bobby Stevens to wrap up the win.
Game Five is set for 7 P.M. in Frederick on Monday night.
P-Nats fall to Keys, trail 2-1 in playoff series
The Frederick Keys held the Potomac Nationals to just three hits on Saturday night in Woodbridge in a 5-1 victory that pushed them one win away from the Mills Cup Championship Series. Scott Copeland was in command for seven outstanding innings, the middle of the Keys’ order shone, and Potomac was held without a hit after the fourth inning in the Game 3 loss.
For the first time in the series, Frederick took the first lead of the ballgame. Fittingly, Jonathan Schoop and Manny Machado were right in the middle of the opening rally. With one out, Schoop singled off Nationals’ starter Evan Bronson. Machado then doubled him home with a laser down the right field line to put the Keys ahead 1-0.
Potomac, held to two infield singles in the first three innings, tied the game with a ball hit decidedly out of the infield. Destin Hood hit an impressive home run to right field that knotted the score at one.
That would be the Nationals’ last hit.
The Keys – led by Schoop, Machado and Aaron Baker – kept on coming. In the fifth, Schoop doubled with one out. Machado brought him home with a sharp single to right field, and would score on a Baker double to deep left-center.
Bobby Stevens led off the sixth with a single. After Dale Mollenhauer grounded out, Schoop walked. Machado hit a hard line drive to third base that was dropped by Jose Lozada. It deflected off his glove and into the corner by the left field bullpen, and allowed Bobby Stevens to score from second. Baker then hit a sacrifice fly to right to plate Schoop, make it 5-1 and close out the scoring.
Copeland retired 11 of the last 12 Nationals batters he faced; his lone miscue was a pitch that hit Steven Souza in the seventh.
Ryan Berry pitched a perfect eighth and ninth to push the Keys to the brink of the Championship Series against the Kinston Indians. Kinston defeated Myrtle Beach 9-2 to close out the Southern Division Series.
The Nationals turn to Adam Olbrychowski in Sunday’s elimination game. Ryohei Tanaka takes the mound for the Keys at 1:05 P.M.
P-Nats even playoff series
The Potomac Nationals used a pair of early two-out rallies in Game 2 on Friday night to stake Sammy Solis to a lead. The lefthander and a trio of bullpen arms had no intention of relinquishing it, and the Nationals cruised to an 8-0 win that leveled the Northern Division Series at one game apiece.
In the first inning, Keys starter Rick Zagone got the first two outs without incident. But Destin Hood then worked a spectacular 12-pitch walk to extend the inning for Brian Peacock. Peacock then blasted a home run to straightaway center field that put Potomac ahead 2-0.
After Solis struck out a pair in the first inning, the Nationals went to work again in the second – and again, they did so with two outs. Jose Lozada drew a walk and Eury Perez singled down the right field line. Francisco Soriano then belted a 2-2 breaking ball over the wall in left field that staked Potomac to a 5-0 advantage.
Solis allowed just one hit in each of the next four innings, and struck out five more for a total of seven punchouts. But a tight strike zone ran his pitch count to 91, and after a two-out walk of Jonathan Schoop put runners at the corners in the fifth, Solis was lifted for Neil Holland. Holland struck out Manny Machado to end the threat.
Holland pitched two and a third scoreless innings; Joe Testa and Cameron Selik followed and preserved the shutout.
Potomac tacked ons single runs in the fourth, seventh and ninth innings – and all of them were scored by Perez. After reaching on a fielder’s choice in the fourth, Perez advanced to second on a wild pitch, to third on an error by Keys catcher Brian Ward, and scored on yet another wild Ryan O’Shea offering. In the seventh, Destin Hood plated Perez with a two-out single. Soriano’s double brought Perez home in the ninth.
Game 3 is set for 6:35 P.M. at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge. Evan Bronson takes the mound for the Nationals against the veteran righthander Ryohei Tanaka.
P-Nats lose rain-shortened Game One
With the Frederick Keys batting in the bottom of the sixth inning and leading 5-1, play was suspended at Harry Grove Stadium. With torrential rain falling and more predicted through the night, the game was called and the Keys had a rain-shortened victory to open the Northern Division Series.
Potomac surged to an early lead on Steven Souza’s solo home run in the second inning. Paul Demny, the Nationals starter, was steady in the first two innings and worked around trouble in the third, inducing a double play to escape a double and a walk.
In the bottom of the fourth, Demny appeared to make another pitch that would get him out of a jam. With one out, Jacob Julius hit a hard one-hopper to second base, but the ball was bobbled by Jeff Kobernus. The split second prevented the Nationals from turning the double play – and that proved costly. Miguel Abreu blasted a three-run homer to left field that gave the Keys a lead they would not relinquish. Brian Ward then followed with a back-to-back homer that put Frederick ahead 4-1.
Keys starter Jake Pettit was fantastic and earned his third win against Potomac in 2011. Other than the homer to Souza, Pettit allowed just two other hits, struck out four and retired Potomac twice in order.
Abreu struck again in the sixth and final inning. With one out, Demny allowed a single to Jacob Julius and Demny was sent to the clubhouse. Rob Wort came on, and Julius stole second base. Abreu then singled to left to score Julius and put Frederick in front, 5-1. Wort then struck out Ward, but walked Bobby Stevens and Dale Mollenhauer to load the bases.
With two outs and a 2-1 count to Jonathan Schoop, the rain became too heavy to continue, and play was called. A driving rain continued through the night and forced the game to be finalized.
Game Two is scheduled for Thursday in Frederick. Potomac will send Sammy Solis to the mound against lefthander Rick Zagone at 7:05 P.M.
P-Nats clinch second half
The Potomac Nationals used a six-run eighth inning to defeat the Kinston Indians 8-4 and secure a tie for the second half title in the Carolina League’s Northern Division in Monday’s regular season finale. The Nationals wrapped up the second half with a 39-31 record and will face the Frederick Keys in the Divisional Playoffs beginning Wednesday at Harry Grove Stadium.
Season finales will often feature some bizarre sights, and the Labor Day contest at Pfitzner Stadium was no different. Relief pitcher Cody Allen drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning with his first professional hit and scored later in the inning to put Kinston ahead 4-2.
But a key error by Jose Flores – making his first appearance since returning from the disabled list – in the eighth inning led to six unearned Potomac runs that put the game away. After a leadoff double by Cutter Dykstra, Flores walked Francisco Soriano. Jeff Kobernus then sacrificed back to the mound; Flores bobbled, Kobernus was safe and the Nationals were in business. Destin Hood then hit a bullet to third that was caught by Adam Abraham, who doubled off Dykstra at third. Without the error, the inning would have been over.
But five straight hits, including three two-out doubles, plated six runs for Potomac and set the table for the series-salvaging win.
Kinston took a brief lead in the first inning. Bo Greenwell and Abraham singled with one out, and Jeremie Tice scored Greenwell with a sacrifice fly to right.
The Nats took the lead back in their half of the first. Brian Peaock’s single scored Jeff Kobernus, who had singled and stolen his 53rd base. Peacock then stole second base, and Roberto Perez’s throw sailed into center field to score Hood and put Potomac ahead.
Casey Frawley was removed from the game in the second inning. Abraham – the designated hitter – was moved to third, Tyler Cannon took over at second, and the Indians forfeited their D.H. spot.
Allen came on in relief of Mike Rayl in the fourth inning and overpowered Potomac on the mound. In three runs he allowed just one hit – and then did some damage with the bat. In the sixth, Tice doubled with one and moved to third on Cannon’s single.
Allen then came to the plate with two on and one out. Tice scored on a wild pitch to tie the game, and Allen’s single to center past a drawn-in infield pushed Kinston ahead. They held the lead until the fateful eighth.
Hector Nelo got the final three outs of the game to close down the regular season in front of 2,209 hearty fans at Pfitzner Stadium, who withstood sporadic drizzle throughout the ballgame.
On Wednesday, the P-Nats begin their quest to repeat as Mills Cup Champions in Frederick. Game One at Harry Grove Stadium begins at 7:05 P.M. The pregame show for the broadcast can be heard beginning at 6:20.
Salem finishes season on streak
Peter Hissey’s first professional grand slam and Matt Spring’s three-run blast highlighted a seven-run fourth inning that propelled the Salem Sox to a 10-3 victory over Myrtle Beach on the final day of the 2011 regular season. Stolmy Pimentel earned his sixth victory, holding Myrtle Beach to two runs on two hits in seven strong innings. Salem finished with a record of 64-75, 33-37 in the second half, and won four in a row and five of the last six to complete the slate.
Salem opened up a 3-0 lead in the top of the second on Monday night, utilizing two singles and three walks to score three times. Josue Peley drilled the first of his two hits to drive in the first run, and the Sox scored twice more on a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded.
Two innings later, the Red Sox loaded the bases again via Peley’s double, Zach Gentile’s strikeout wild pitch, and Drew Dominguez’ hit-by-pitch. With one out, Hissey lifted a deep fly down the left-field line that snuck over the fence and inside the foul pole for a grand slam. The four-run shot was Hissey’s second homer of the season, both of which came against the Pelicans. In fact, all three of Hissey’s professional home runs have been belted against Myrtle Beach.
The slam made it 7-0, but the Sox were not done in the fourth. Heiker Meneses reached on Leury Garcia’s fielding error, Bryce Brentz singled Meneses to third, and then Matt Spring clobbered his second homer in as many days to shoot Salem to a 10-0 edge. Spring’s seventh Carolina League dinger gave the Sox a comfortable cushion for the pitcher’s to embrace.
Pimentel peppered the strike zone, surrendering back-to-back hits in the fourth inning but none others. Garcia doubled to lead off the fourth and Jared Prince smothered a two-run homer to make it 10-2, but Pimentel set down 11 of the next 13, hitting two batters who never passed first base. The Dominican righthander improved to 6-4 and lowered his Carolina League ERA to 4.53.
In relief, Manny Rivera permitted one run on two innings, striking out a pair in his perfect ninth to end the season. Myrtle Beach used seven different pitchers in their final game before the postseason, with Kasey Kiker suffering the loss, allowing three runs in a third of a frame on the mound.
Every member of Salem’s lineup reached base and scored a run, with Spring and Peley registering multi-hit evenings to complete the campaign. The two home runs gave Salem 93 round-trippers for the season, the most for any Salem Sox squad since the Red Sox returned to the Roanoke Valley in 2009.
P-Nats complete sweep of ‘Cats
The Potomac Nationals lead the Carolina League in stolen bases, and it showed on Friday night as they swiped nine bags en route to a 7-3 win over the Hillcats at City Stadium.
The Nationals scored in the first inning. Jeff Kobernus had an infield single. He then stole second and third. When he stole third, catcher Shawn McGill’s throw went into left field, and Kobernus trotted home to give the Nationals the early lead.
Potomac scored more conventionally in the second inning. Zach Walters doubled out to left field, and Sandy Leon followed behind him a with a single to put the Nationals up 2-0.
The Hillcats struck back in the bottom of the second. Joe Leonard singled to lead off the inning. Keenan Wiley struck out, but Shawn McGill singled. Ryan Query knocked a single to right field to score Leonard and cut the lead to 2-1.
The Hillcats took their first lead since Tuesday in the fourth inning. With two outs, McGill hit a grounder to third. Jose Lozada threw the ball across the infield high, which pulled Steven Souza off the base. Query followed with a live drive down the right field line that rolled all the way to the corner. McGill came around to score on the hit, and Query slid into third with a triple. With L.V. Ware at the plate, Query was able to score on a wild pitch by Nationals starter Sammy Solis, and the Hillcats led 3-2.
Things went downhill for the Hillcats from there. The Nationals retook the lead in the top of the sixth inning. Jeff Kobernus walked, stole two bases, and scored on a wild pitch by Hillcats starter Corey Brewer to tie the game. Justin Bloxom also scored in the inning on an RBI single by Zach Walters, and the Nationals went ahead 4-3.
Reliever Jeremy Haynes gave up two unearned runs in the seventh inning, after he made an errant throw early in the inning. Two runs came across to score, and the Nationals led 6-3. They added one more in the eighth, and despite the Hillcats threatening in the ninth, held on to the 7-3 win.
The Hillcats gave up nine stolen bases in the game, and 21 in the series. It was the first time all season that Lynchburg had been swept in a four-game series.
Brewer (1-2) took the loss, and Solis (6-2) earned the win for the Nationals. The Hillcats dropped to 28-37 in the second half, while the Nationals improved to 38-28.
The final series of the season starts Saturday night as the Winston-Salem Dash come to Lynchburg. Gary Moran (1-1) will pitch for the Hillcats, while the Dash will send out Cameron Bayne (12-7). The first pitch is at 6:05 pm and the gates will open at 5.
The Hillcats On-Deck Show presented by Honda/Suzuki of Lynchburg will go on the air at 5:40 pm. Tune in to 105.5 KD Country or go to lynchburg-hillcats.com to listen live to all the action.
