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P-Nats walk-off winners in rain-soaked matchup

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With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Potomac Nationals (58-66, 25-29) got RBI singles from DH Austin Davidson and RF Rhett Wiseman to tie the game and walk-off respectively with an 8-7 victory over the Winston-Salem Dash (50-76, 26-30).

p-natsLF Jack Sundberg, who reached on a double into a rain saturated night sky, scored the game-tying run after a 44-minute rain delay. Wiseman’s single just out of the reach of CF Joel Booker plated Davidson and ended the long night at Pfitzner Stadium.

The Dash controlled nearly the entirety of the matchup, as despite a 2-0 deficit after one inning, Winston-Salem plated the next seven runs, and came within one out of a victory. RHP A.J. Puckett (ND) made his seventh start of the season vs. Potomac and allowed five runs, two in the first frame. The first two batters that he faced, CF Daniel Johnson and Sundberg doubled, while an RBI single by Davidson made it 2-0 Potomac.

RHP Sterling Sharp (ND) surrendered seven runs on 10 hits over five innings in his second start of the year vs. the Dash. Sharp gave up a game-tying two-run home run to LF Jameson Fisher in the second inning, a go-ahead RBI triple to DH Brandon Dulin in the third inning, while 1B Matt Rose made it 4-2 Dash with an RBI groundout in the third. Sharp then retired 10 straight hitters before the Dash struck for three runs in the top of the fifth.

Winston-Salem built its lead to five runs with the three-run fifth inning. Fisher drove home his third and fourth runs of the night with a double, while RF Louis Silverio followed with an RBI single. Despite seven runs in the first five innings, the Dash went just 2-11 with RISP in the game.

The P-Nats began the comeback in the sixth inning, as three of the first four hitters that Puckett faced reached base. An RBI double by 3B Bryan Mejia knocked Puckett out of the game, while Johnson greeted RHP Zach Thompson with a two run single. After Johnson stole second base, Sundberg made it a one-run game with a two-out RBI single.

The Potomac bullpen shined in the win, as RHP Tommy Peterson and LHP R.C. Orlan (W, 2-0) allowed just one hit over four-shutout frames. The duo struck out six batters and walked just two.

After Orlan struck out the side in the top of the ninth inning, RHP Ian Hamilton retired Johnson to begin the bottom half of the frame. As the rain picked up to a near torrential downpour, Sundberg hit a lazy fly ball to left field, but between the rain and the wind, Fisher had no idea where the ball was, as Sundberg got credit for a double. At that point, the tarp went on the field, which led to the delay.

Once the teams took the field after most of the rain had passed, RHP Matt Foster (L, 0-2) entered for the Dash and quickly struck out 2B Jake Noll. Davidson followed with a two-out RBI single that deflected off the glove of 2B Bryant Flete. After Reetz walked, Wiseman singled just out of the reach of Booker, which earned Potomac a fifth walk-off victory of the season. The 8-7 win leveled the series at a game apiece and set up a rubber match for Sunday afternoon.

With a win that matched the largest come from behind win of the year, the P-Nats pulled to within two games of both the Salem Red Sox and Frederick Keys for a playoff spot. Now with a chance to win the series vs. the Dash, RHP Joan Baez (2-8, 4.31) will take the mound for Potomac. Last time out, Baez tossed one of his best starts of the year, as he allowed just one run over six innings in a win over the Red Sox. For Winston-Salem, RHP Kelvis Valerio (3-4, 5.53) will aim to pick up the Dash after a crushing defeat. Valerio has gone no more than four innings in any of his last six outings, three of them starts, and did not give up a run in three innings in his lone appearance vs. Potomac, a relief outing on 8/3.

First pitch on Sunday is set for 1:05pm. The Potomac broadcast will get underway at 12:50pm with the P-Nats Leadoff Show. You can listen to the Potomac broadcast at potomacnationals.com or on the TuneIn Radio App.

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