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Potomac sweeps twinbill with 4-3 and 3-0 wins vs. Wilmington

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p-natsBack at the friendly confines of Frawley Stadium, the Potomac Nationals (8-7 Overall, 7-1 Road) picked up where they left off from a season opening road series win, as they took down the Wilmington Blue Rocks (6-9 Overall, 1-7 Home) 4-3 in game one of the doubleheader and 3-0 game two.

SS Osvaldo Abreu’s two-strike RBI single in the seventh inning of game one propelled the P-Nats to a win that snapped a four-game skid, while RF Dale Carey’s RBI single in the sixth frame of game two gave the P-Nats an early 2-0 series lead in the five games scheduled in Wilmington.

Game one got off to a good start, as both RHP Boone Whiting (W, 3-0) and RHP Ashton Goudeau (ND) pitched through three shutout innings. Goudeau though was the first to break, as the P-Nats had five straight men reach base to start the fourth inning and built a 2-0 lead. C Raudy Read started the frame with a single and went to third on a double by 3B Drew Ward, Ward’s second double of the game. 2B Bryan Mejia made it 1-0 with an RBI single, while LF Alec Keller doubled up the Potomac lead with an RBI groundout.

Ward then continued his hot hitting in Wilmington with his third home run of the season, a solo home run that began the top of the sixth, his third extra-base hit of the game. Whiting then ran into trouble in the bottom of the sixth, as he allowed three runs in large part due to some lucky bounces off the bats of the Blue Rocks. Two infield singles that deflected off of Whiting’s glove, including one that then deflected off of the field umpire, put runners on first and second with no outs for 2B Corey Toups. Toups doubled over CF Andrew Stevenson’s head, a two-run hit that cut the deficit to one. After a sacrifice bunt by SS Humberto Arteaga moved Toups to third, 1B Ryan O’Hearn tied the game with an RBI single. Whiting got LF Alfredo Escalera to ground out to shortstop to end the threat, his final batter of the game.

Wilmington went to the bullpen to begin the seventh inning, as LHP Tim Hill (L, 0-1) relieved Goudeau. Hill hit RF Narciso Mesa, Stevenson’s sacrifice bunt put Mesa at second base, a wild pitch moved Mesa to third, and Abreu’s single made it 4-3, the eventual final. RHP Derek Self (SV, 1) continued his great start, as the righty set down the side in order and closed out Potomac’s game one win.

Game two started much like the first, only the starting pitchers went even further into the game before there was any scoring. In his debut in the Washington Nationals’ system, RHP Greg Ross (ND) threw four-shutout innings. The righty gave up four hits, induced two double plays, and did not walk a batter. In relief of Ross, RHP Mick VanVossen (W, 1-0) retired all nine men that he faced in his Potomac debut. VanVossen set down the side in order in the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh in route to the win.

Potomac’s offense in game two came in the final two frames. RHP Josh Staumont (L, 0-2) allowed just two hits over the first five innings, all scoreless. He started the sixth inning with an already career high eight strikeouts, but allowed a leadoff triple to Abreu. With the infield drawn in, Staumont struck out 1B Jose Marmolejos for the third time, before manager Jamie Quirk went to the bullpen.

In came LHP Brennan Henry, who quickly let things get out of hand. Carey singled to the drawn in third baseman Robert Pehl, but Pehl’s throw to the plate was far too late to get Abreu. Keller then led off the seventh inning with a single, moved to second on a groundout, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on SS David Masters’ high chopper to the mound. With two outs, Stevenson tripled into the left-centerfield gap and then scored on a wild pitch, as Potomac led 3-0, the eventual final.

In game one, Stevenson (0-3) had his 11-game hit streak snapped, while Marmolejos (0-4) had his league best 13-game on-base streak snapped. Marmolejos then struck out four times in game two. All three of Ward’s home runs this season have come in Wilmington, and three of his seven multi-hit games have come at Frawley Stadium.

Off of the sweep, the P-Nats will look to make it three in a row Friday night vs. the Blue Rocks. On the mound for Potomac will be RHP Luis Reyes (0-2, 6.52). Reyes allowed five runs in 5.2 innings at home vs. Wilmington on April 17th. Wilmington will send LHP Colin Rodgers (1-0, 2.00) to the hill. The southpaw gave up two earned runs over five innings as he picked up a win in Potomac when he matched up with Reyes on the 17th.

The P-Nats broadcast gets underway at 6:50pm with the “P-Nats Lead-Off Show” via the TuneIn Radio App or at PotomacNationals.com.

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