Salem Red Sox take rubber game from Potomac

David Renfroe’s spectacular hitting performance helped the Salem Red Sox finish their season-opening road trip strong, downing the Nationals 7-2 on Wednesday afternoon in Northern Virginia.

Renfroe’s solo homer in the top of the fifth broke the scoring seal, and the Red Sox never trailed in the series finale, taking two out of three from Potomac in the set. With just one hit in his first 14 at-bats entering Wednesday morning, Renfroe went 4-for-4 with a double, a homer, and two RBI to raise his batting average 207 points from .071 to .278. Garin Cecchini added two more hits for Salem, giving him 10 hits in his last 16 at-bats since starting the year 0-for-7.

Mickey Pena and Robbie Ray, respectively, both dazzled in the game’s early ininings, tossing four scoreless frames each with a slew of strikeouts. Pena K’d the side in the first and permitted just three singles in the first four frames, while Ray set down 12 of the first 13 he faced thru four, allowing just one hit (to Renfroe). But in the top of the fifth, Renfroe launched an 0-2 mistake down the left-field line for his first Carolina League homer, lifting the Sox to a 1-0 lead. Later in the frame, Henry Ramos and Carson Blair triggered a successful steal, with the catcher’s throw sailing into the outfield, allowing Ramos to race home and make it 2-0. Felix Sanchez chipped in with an RBI bunt single, scoring Blair to give the Sox a three-run edge.

The Nationals scratched Pena in the last of the fifth, scoring a pair on Adrian Nieto’s RBI double and Caleb Ramsay’s RBI ground-out. But Pena departed after five innings with a 3-2 lead, which stood up for Pena to earn his first Carolina League victory. In five innings, the lefthander allowed just two runs on five hits, with four strikeouts and no walks.

Salem added a coveted insurance run in the eighth, with Renfroe’s double was again sparking the scoring. Ramos bunted him to third, and Jose Garcia lifted a sacrifice fly to bring him home. One inning later, Garin Cecchini fought off a tough pitch and lofted a two-run double over the third-baseman’s head down the left-field line, giving Salem a 6-2 lead. Two batters later, Cecchini crossed the plate on Renfroe’s fourth hit, a chopper up the middle that made it 7-2.

Heri Quevedo piggybacked Pena and tossed four strong scoreless innings, striking out five with three walks and one hit allowed. Quevedo was credited with a save, his first as a member of the Red Sox organization.

While Sean Coyle, Deven Marrero, and Keury De La Cruz had been Salem’s top third of the batting order in each of the first five games, each was given Wednesday off with the 10:35 AM start. Coyle will carry his five-game hitting streak and .368 average into Friday’s home opener at LewisGale Field.

After a day off on Thursday, the Salem Sox will kick off their 70-game home slate with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans arriving to town for a 7:05 first pitch on Friday evening. Lefthander Henry Owens will make the start for the Sox, while fellow southpaw Victor Payano will counter for the Pelicans.