Friday’s News & Notes

Charlotte 5 Syracuse 3
• Mandel (L, 1-4) 5⅓ IP, 6H, 5R, 5ER, 5BB, 3K
• Broadway ⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 0K, WP, 3-2 IR-S
• Walters 3-4, 2R, 2B, HR, RBI
• Rivero 2-3, RBI

After matching the Knights twice, the Chiefs had no answer for Charlotte’s two-run rally in the 6th, losing the game 5-3 and the series 3-1. Starter Jeff Mandel suffered his fourth loss, charged with all five runs on six hits and five walks. He left with one out in the sixth as the go-ahead run came in on a groundout and the insurance run scored on a wild pitch. Zach Walters was a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored as he hit his career-high and team-best 16th home run.

Bowie 5 Harrisburg 3
• Karns (L, 4-3) 4IP, 5H, 2R, ER, 2BB, 5K
• McCoy 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Souza 3-4, 2R, 2B, HR, BB, RBI, SB(10)
• Goodwin 2-5

Nathan Karns hadn’t faced any live^* batters in 11 days and it showed as he took the “L” in a 5-3 Harrisburg loss to Bowie. Karns threw 28 of 78 total pitches during his fourth and final inning, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out five. Bowie extended the lead from 2-1 to 5-1 with a pair against Matt Swynenberg in the 5th and one against Ryan Perry in the 6th. Steve Souza Jr. led the Senators attack with 3-for-4 night with a home run, walk, two runs scored, and his 10th stolen base.
^{* No word in whether he pitched to any dead ones. *rimshot!*}

Potomac Nationals — OFF DAY
The second half finally begins with a seven-game homestand against the Carolina Mudcats and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

Hagerstown 14 Greenville 1
• Mooneyham (W, 3-1) 5IP, 3H, R, ER, 3BB, 4K, HR
• Dickson (H, 1) 3IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 5K
• Foat 3-4, 2R, 2-2B, BB, 2RBI
• Pleffner 2-5, R, BB, 2RBI, SB
• Mesa 2-5, 2R, 2B, 2RBI

Hagerstown scored 14 unanswered runs in the second-half opener for a 14-1 win over Greenville. Starter Brett Mooneyham gave up a solo shot in the 1st but went the requisite five innings to get the win, giving up three hits total while walking three and striking out four. All nine starters got a hit as the Suns pounded out 13 total. Matt Foat led the way with a single, walk, a pair of doubles, two runs scored and two runs driven in for 3-for-4 night, followed by Shawn Pleffner and recently promoted Narciso Mesa, both of whom went 2-for-5 with 2RBI.

State College 7 Auburn 5
• D. Williams (L, 0-1) 4⅓ IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 5K
• Medina 2⅓ IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 3K
• Difo 2-4, 2R, HR, BB, RBI
• Valdez 2-5, 2B, RBI

The Spikes rallied twice for three runs in the 5th and 6th innings to break open a 1-1 game and held off the Doubledays for 7-5 win. Deion Williams, converted to pitcher last summer in the GCL, took the loss with two runs allowed on two hits and two walks while fanning five over four and a 1/3rd innings. Dominicans Wilmer Difo and Jean Valdez led the Auburn attack, as the second baseman (Difo) went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored, and an RBI and the corner infielder (Valdez) went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

GCL Nationals — OPENING DAY
Like the diet of a fussy toddler, the GCL schedule is limited — 20 games apiece against the Mets, Marlins, and Cardinals for the next 10 weeks. Seven of the ten DSL guys from the 2013 Watchlist are on the roster, which also includes 2012 first-round pick Lucas Giolito, 2013 third-rounder Drew Ward.

DSL Nationals 1 DSL Tigers 0
• Reyes 4IP, 4H, 0R, 2BB, 6K
• Feliz (W, 3-0) 3IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 3K
• Salazar (SV, 3) 2IP, 0H, 0R, BB, K
• Mercedes 1-3, R, HR, RBI, BB

Yermin Mercedes’s solo HR in the bottom of the 4th was the difference in a 1-0 D-Nats win over the D-Tigers. Of course, three pitchers combining on a four-hit shutout also helped. Luis Reyes went the first four and gave up all four hits. John Feliz got his third relief win pitching the next three, while Melvi Salazar notched his third save with two goose eggs in the 8th and 9th innings. Meredes, Aldrem Corredor, and Israel Mota each went 1-for-3 with a walk ad the D-Nats were held to just five hits and four walks.