Winston-Salem 11, Potomac 10
W: Jake Elliott (3-0)
L: Andrew Lee (1-1)
S: Luis Ledo (5)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (April 30, 2019) – The Dash withstood two separate comeback efforts from the Potomac Nationals to claim an 11-10 victory on Tuesday night at BB&T Ballpark. With the win, the Dash (15-11) have now won four straight and seven out of their last eight ballgames.
Winston-Salem led the game 8-1 before Potomac (9-17) roared back to make it 8-7 with six runs in the top of the seventh. Potomac’s comeback effort was aided by six walks issued by Dash pitching in the inning. However, Winston-Salem added three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to make it 11-7. A three-run homer from David Masters in the top of the ninth pulled Potomac back within one, but Luis Ledo earned the save by getting Cole Freeman to fly out to deep right.
Potomac jumped out to an early lead by plating a run in the second, but Winston-Salem responded with a three-run outburst in the bottom of the frame against Potomac starter Andrew Lee (1-1). With one down in the inning, Zach Remillard singled up the middle. Then, Craig Dedelow smacked a single into right-center and took second base as Potomac attempted to throw out Remillard at third. Carlos Perez followed Dedelow by bringing home Remillard with an RBI groundout.
After a walk to Tate Blackman, Yeyson Yrizarri then gave the Dash the lead by smoking a two-run double over the head of the Potomac center fielder Cole Freeman to make it 3-1. The double extended Yrizarri’s hit streak to eight games.
The Dash added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth. With two down in the inning, Perez belted a double into left-center field. Blackman then laced a run-scoring double down the left-field line, and he was able to reach third on the play, as the ball was bobbled by Potomac’s left fielder Telmito Agustin. With Yrizarri at the plate, Lee threw a wild pitch allowing Blackman to score and extend the lead to four runs.
Already leading 5-1, Winston-Salem continued its offensive onslaught in the sixth. Blackman led off the frame with a walk before coming home on a double to deep center by Tyler Frost to make it 6-1. After Frost advanced to third on a Nick Madrigal groundout, Steele Walker hit a ground ball that was misplayed by Osvaldo Abreu at second base. The error allowed Frost to score, making it 7-1.
Then, Jameson Fisher ripped a double into deep center field to score Walker and extend the lead to 8-1.
Jake Elliott (3-0) earned the win by pitching 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Additionally, Walker notched his first hit at the High-A level with a double in the fifth inning.
The Dash’s series against Potomac will continue on Wednesday morning. Left-hander Cristian Castillo (0-3, 5.68 ERA) will take the hill for Winston-Salem against righty Malvin Pena (1-1, 9.39 ERA) for Potomac. First pitch is set for 11:00 a.m., and fans can catch all of the action on wsdash.com/broadcast, MiLB.tv and the TuneIn Radio App. Wednesday’s game is the first of three Education Days that will be held at BB&T Ballpark during the 2019 season.
The homestand finale will be a Lowes Foods Thirsty Thursday, a Pups in the Park Night, presented by Handy and Handy Orthodontics, and a Rayados Day. For tickets and more information, call the Dash at (336) 714-2287 or visit wsdash.com.
