Five times before this season, Potomac got a run in the ninth to walk off with a win. The sixth would require them to match that output in one inning.
Down 7-3 after eight and a half innings, the P-Nats sent nine men to the plate and scored five times on five hits for the improbable 8-7 win.
Billy Burns plated the gamewinner on a two-out bloop single that sent in pinch-runner Randolph Oduber. It was the fourth single of the frame, as the P-Nats had just one extra-base hit, a Cutter Dykstra double, and one walk.
The heroics made a winner out of Marcos Frias, who got the last out of the 9th and took starter Sammy Solis off the hook.
Solis was making his first start at home since coming off the DL last week in Salem. After striking out the side in the 1st, Solis stumbled in the 2nd, giving up a single then a long home run to put himself in a 2-0 hole. Two innings later, he would give up another two-run blast that ended his night early.
Final line: Four innings pitched, four runs allowed on five hits, one walk, and four strikeouts. Salem simply made him pay for two pitches left up in the zone on fastball counts.
Brian Dupra followed Solis out of the ‘pen in the 5th, starting off about as bad as any pitcher could (solo HR) but then finishing as strong as anyone could expect (nine straight retired).
Rob Wort was next with two runs charged over an inning and 2/3rds, as Frias was greeted with a single then retired the second batter he faced.
The win improves Potomac to 16-11 in the second half, three games better than Wilmington, which lost its seventh straight yesterday. The series continues tonight with a matchup of Blake Schwartz (7-3, 2.81) vs. Henry Owens (7-4, 2.93).