Henry and McInerney Lead the Way in 13-6 Pummeling of Potomac

ZEBULON, N.C. - Payton Henry hit two opposite field home runs and matched a career high with five RBI, Pat McInerney hit his first home run as a Mudcat and Nelson Hernandez worked through five solid innings while leading the Mudcats to a series tying 13-6 victory versus the Potomac Nationals in front of a Saturday night crowd of 5,660 at Five County Stadium.

The Mudcats (13-10) set a new season high for runs and hits in a game after scoring 13 times on 13 hits in Saturday's series leveling win against the visiting Nationals (9-14). Those 13 hits included Henry's two home runs, a double and a home run from McInerney, a double from Devin Hairston and two doubles from Tristen Lutz.
Henry led the way as his first of two home runs in the game came in the first when he hit an opposite field solo shot to right off Potomac starter Kyle Johnston. The Mudcats followed the one run first with a seven run second and led 8-0 after two against the Nationals. Johnston (1-4, 8.68) allowed all eight (five earned) early runs and took the loss while going just an inning and 2/3.
Carolina's onslaught in the second began with Eddie Silva being hit by a pitch to start the frame. It then continued with a single from Zach Clark and McInerney's run scoring double. Hairston followed with a strikeout, but Julio Garcia would go on to reach on an error as he hit a grounder to second. Potomac's Kyle Freeman errantly threw wide to first on Garcia's grounder and both Clark and McInerney went on to score on the play. Joantgel Segovia followed with single and Lutz when on to drive in one with a double to left. Henry then struck again with a RBI hit to left and both Silva and Clark would follow with the same.
Clark's hit brought in the final run of the second and was his second hit of the inning. Clark finished Saturday's game 2-for-3 with two run and one RBI. Silva went 1-for-4 with a RBI, Segovia scored twice and was 2-for-4 and Lutz when 2-for-5 with two doubles and a RBI.
The Mudcats had an 8-0 lead after two, but Potomac reliever Jeremy McKinney went on to hold them scoreless over the next two frames after following Johnston. McKinney did, however, allow two inherited runners to score in the second after entering the game.
Hernandez (3-0, 4.15) was also putting goose eggs on the board as he blanked the Nationals four the first four innings. Hernandez, however, had held the Nationals to just two hits over the first four frames before allowing three runs on four hits in the fifth. He eventually escaped the frame and ended up with the victory while going to 3-0 on the season. The Mudcats, meanwhile, improved to 5-0 in games started by Hernandez this season with Saturday's victory.
The Mudcats had an 8-3 lead in the game after the Nationals bounced back a bit in the fifth. That lead grew in a hurry though in the fifth when McInerney hit his two-run homer to right-center and Henry connected on a three-run shot down the right field line. Henry's two homers in the game were a new career high and McInerney's was his first of the season.
Carolina's two homer fifth broke the game open and gave them a 13-3 lead. Potomac went on to answer with three runs in the sixth against reliever Matt Hardy, but Hardy, Christian Meister and Clayton Andrews went on to hold Potomac scoreless from the seventh through the end of the game to seal the victory.
Hardy pitched through two innings and allowed three runs on three hits between the sixth and seventh. He also walked one and struck out two. Meister worked a scoreless eighth with a walk and a strikeout. Andrews then struck out one while facing three in the ninth to finish it.
Potomac's Hayden Howard pitched the final third of the game in relief of McKinney and struck out eight while allowing just one hit and facing 11 batters.
The win brought the Mudcats into a 1-1 tie in the series and gave them a 4-1 lead in the overall season series against the Nationals. The current three game series will conclude on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at Five County Stadium. RHP Drew Rasmussen (0-0, 1.59) is scheduled to start for the Mudcats in Sunday's series finale in Zebulon. The game will air live on the Mudcats Radio Network, the Big Dawg 98.5 FM and online at carolinamudcats.com via TuneIn Radio. It will also stream live in full HD video on MiLB.tv.
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