On another cold and blustery night in Woodbridge, the P-Nats could not solve Justin Garza for five and 2/3rds innings and could not connect for the key hit late as the Hillcats evened the three-game series with a 5-3 win.
Errors were the name of this game, with six charged— four by Lynchburg, two Potomac—and arguably a couple more that probably should have been called (yeah, Rhett Wiseman, we’re looking at you). An error charged to Edwin Lora and a misplayed flyball by Wiseman (the first of two) led to two runs in the 1st that put Lynchubrg in the driver’s seat early.
Garza mowed down the first eight batters he faced before plunking Lora in the back with a breaking ball that ran inside. A stolen base and a throw into center field put Lora on third with less than two out, enabling Telmito Agustin to plate him with a sac fly. A walk to Perkins gave a brief glimmer of hope that Garza may have come unhinged but he got Carter Kieboom to pop out to end the 3rd.
Meanwhile, Matthew Crownover had his troubles as the defense let him down with earned (but not really) run in the 4th and an unearned run in the 5th put him behind 4-1 after five innings. He would go six innings and was charged with four runs (two earned) on six hits, no walks, and two whiffs, but would take the loss.
Garza left with a no-hitter with two outs in the 6th. An error, another HBP, and a Wiseman RBI single cut the lead to 4-2 but the tying runs were left on in 6th. Potomac would leave two more on again in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings – finishing with a total 12 and a mark of 2-for-11 with RISP.
The loss drops Potomac to 9-7, tied with Salem for 1st place and just a ½ game ahead of second-place Lynchburg. Game Three of the four-game series will feature Sterling Sharp (1-1, 4.73) vs. Jake Paulson (1-1, 2.89).