Trailing 10-4 entering the bottom of the ninth, the Potomac Nationals (41-40, 4-10) sent 10 men to the plate in the final frame, scoring five runs, but left the tying and game-winning runs on base in a 10-9 loss to the Salem Red Sox (39-43, 7-7).
The second game of a five-game series saw 19 combined runs on 33 combined hits, including a season-high 18 hits for the Salem Red Sox. The 18 hits were also the most for any team facing the Potomac Nationals this season.
Salem took the first lead of tonight’s back and forth affair on an RBI double in the top of the first from 3B Bobby Dalbec. Potomac answered in the bottom of the second with three runs off of Salem starter Bryan Mata (W, 5-2). C Jakson Reetz led off the inning with a walk and came around to score on a single from 2B Bryan Mejia. SS Luis Garcia followed with a walk, while DH Ian Sagdal and 1B Aldrem Corredor connected on back-to-back singles to give Potomac a 3-1 lead.
After a scoreless third, Salem put up three runs in both the fourth and the fifth, highlighted by home runs off the bat of Dalbec (17) and LF Ryan Scott (4). Scott’s home run knocked Potomac starter Matthew Crownover (3-8) out of the game after 4.1 innings. The lefty gave up seven runs on 10 hits.
The lead for Salem extended to 10-3 after a two-run top of the seventh, setting up an opportunity for Potomac’s biggest comeback of the season. LF Nick Banks started the comeback in the bottom of the eighth with his first home run as a Potomac National.
Chaos ensued in the bottom of the ninth, as The P-Nats eventually put the walk-off run on first with the game-tying run on third.
Ian Sagdal started the rally with a one-out single, advancing to second on an error by Scott and scoring on an RBI single by Corredor. With two outs, RF Rhett Wiseman ripped an RBI double, followed by a walk from Reetz and an error by 2B Carlos Tovar that allowed Banks to reach safely. With the bases loaded, 3B David Masters drew a walk to force in a run to make it a 10-7 game. Mejia drove in two more with an RBI single to pull The P-Nats within a run. Garcia stood in with runners on the corners, but took strike three from RHP Jared Oliver (SV, 1) to close out the game.
RHP Steven Fuentes and LHP Hayden Howard covered the final 4.2 innings for Potomac, striking out a combined eight batters.
Potomac’s offense featured four hitters with multi-hit games, including three-hit games from Sagdal and Corredor.
With the five-game series tied at one game a piece, LHP Nick Raquet (1-1, 11.25) will make the start for Potomac in game three, his first start at home as a P-Nat. For Salem, RHP Jake Thompson will take the ball, making his fourth start of the season against The Red, White, & Blue. Thompson gave up five runs over 4.1 innings in his last start against Potomac.
First pitch at Northwest Federal Field on Friday is set for 7:05pm. The Potomac broadcast will get underway at 6:50pm with the P-Nats Leadoff Show. You can listen to the Potomac broadcast at potomacnationals.com, at http://bit.ly/P-NatsBroadcast, or on the TuneIn Radio App.
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