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P-Nats shut out twice in doubleheader

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p-natsBehind two dominant starts, the visiting Frederick Keys (31-31 Overall, 19-12 Road) pulled off two shutouts over the hometown Potomac Nationals (30-30 Overall, 13-15 Home) Saturday night. Frederick took game one of the doubleheader 2-0 behind four shutout innings by starter RHP Cory Jones (ND), and capped off the daily sweep with a 3-0 win in game two behind a complete game shutout by LHP Mitch Horacek (W, 3-6).

Potomac managed just three hits in the game one loss, two of them came on balls that likely should have been caught. CF Andrew Stevenson led off the bottom of the first inning with a single on a fly ball to centerfield, which went off the glove of Frederick centerfielder Josh Hart. DH Alec Keller had an infield double in the second inning on a ball that landed just off to the first base side off the pitchers mound. Potomac’s lone true hit of game one came in the fourth inning, as 1B Jose Marmolejos tallied his team best 21st double on a ball hit into the gap in left-centerfield. Those were Potomac’s only three baserunners in the loss, and all three were left at third base.

Jones, in his fifth start of the season, allowed just the three hits and did not walk a batter. The righty struck out three but did not qualify for the win. Out of the bullpen, RHP Mike Burke (W, 1-0) retired all nine men that he faced in route to the victory. Burke struck out four in three perfect innings.

In his first start with Potomac in 2016, RHP Austen Williams (L, 0-1) struck out six but gave up two runs in the complete-game outing. Frederick 1B Cam Kneeland drew Williams’ only walk to start the fourth, and DH Aderlin Rodriguez followed with a double into the left field corner. After Williams struck out RF Conor Bierfeldt, 3B Jomar Reyes had a two-strike RBI single, which proved to be the game-winning hit. C Jonah Heim followed with a two-strike RBI groundout, which wrapped up the scoring at 2-0, the eventual final.

In game two, the Potomac offense was slightly more active, but was still unable to get on the board. Horacek, who entered Saturday night with an ERA of 6.06, allowed just four hits and struck out a season high nine in the complete game shutout. The lefty retired the first six batters of the game and then the final six batters of the night. In between, the P-Nats had the leadoff man reach base in four straight innings, but only placed one man in scoring position.

In the third inning, CF Dale Carey started the frame with a single before Horacek walked 2B David Masters. With men on first and second with no outs, Potomac’s best offensive chance of the night, 3B Khayyan Norfork grounded the first pitch from Horacek into a 4-6-3 double play. With Carey at third base, Stevenson struck out and ended the frame. SS Osvaldo Abreu led off the fourth with a single, but was erased on an inning-ending double play by C Raudy Read. DH Drew Wardwalked to start the fifth, but was erased on Potomac’s third double play in as many innings. Norfork then led off the sixth with a single, but Horacek set down the next three in order. The lefty worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning and capped off his best start of the season.

Over three innings in his second P-Nats start of the season, LHP Matthew Spann (L, 1-1) allowed two runs on five hits over three innings. The lefty struck out five and walked two in the loss. Spann gave up four consecutive singles to start the third inning, as an RBI base hit by Rodriguez made it 1-0 Frederick, and Bierfeldt followed with an RBI single, as the Keys led 2-0 after 2.5 innings. The Keys finished the scoring with an unearned run off of RHP Tommy Peterson in the seventh on an RBI single by Bierfeldt.

With two losses, Potomac fell to .500 for the first time since the club was 7-7 on April 15th. The P-Nats now sit in a statistical tie for second place in the Northern Division with Frederick, both with an elimination number of one. Potomac went a combined 0-9 with RISP in the doubleheader and left five men on base.

The homestand wraps up Sunday afternoon with a 1:05pm start vs. the Keys. Family Fun Days at the Pfitz includes an opportunity for kids to run the bases, presented by Kids N Motion, and a catch for families on the field after the game.

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