Carolina Comes Up Short in 12-10 Slugfest Loss to Nationals in Zebulon

ZEBULON, N.C. - Potomac's Gage Canning went 4-for-5 with four RBI, four runs, two doubles and a triple, KJ Harrison went 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBI in his Carolina League debut and the Nationals totaled eight doubles overall while defeating the Mudcats 12-10 in a wild ballgame at Five County Stadium on Friday night.

Harrison's four hit debut came in his first game with the Nationals (9-13) and against an affiliate of the organization that traded him last August as he took on the Milwaukee Brewers affiliated Mudcats (12-10) on Friday. The Brewers originally drafted Harrison in the third round of the 2017 Draft, but traded him and Gilbert Lara to the Washington Nationals for Gio Gonzalez in August of 2018. 
In all, Harrison had a leadoff single to spark a three-run Potomac second, had a RBI double in Potomac's four run third, singled again and scored in the three-run fifth and doubled in a run in the eighth.
Potomac's second inning erased what was an early 2-0 lead for the Mudcats as Carolina originally rallied for two runs and one hit in the first against starter Malvin Pena. Mario Feliciano singled to drive in the game's first run in the opening frame and Rob Henry later walked with the bases loaded to drive in the second.
Carolina's 2-0 lead, however, disappeared in the second when Harrison singled and scored on Canning's first of two RBI doubles in the game. Canning also scored a run in the second as the Nationals rallied for three runs and three hits off Carolina's starter Christian Taugner.
Like Harrison, Canning's four-hit night began with a run scoring double to cut Carolina's early lead to 2-1 in the second, another run scoring double in the third, a RBI triple in the fifth and a single in the ninth. He finished the game with four RBI and four runs scored as well. Potomac's ninth place hitter Osvaldo Abreu also had a huge night as he went 3-for-5 with five RBI and a run scored. 
Taugner (1-3, 7.36) had a 2-0 lead to work with in the first, but squandered it after allowing seven runs (five earned) on eight hits over three innings pitched. He also walked two and struck out while taking the loss on Friday night.
The Nationals led 3-2 after the second and 7-2 in the third before Rob Henry hit a two-run home run to cut the lead to 7-4. The home run was Henry's team leading fifth of the season.
Carolina followed the Henry home run with two more runs in the fourth to make it a one run game at 7-6, but the Nationals went one to score three runs against reliever Cody Beckman in the fifth to extend the lead to 10-6. 
Beckman pitched the fourth and fifth following Taugner and allowed three runs on four hits over two innings. He also walked one and struck out two. 
Carolina did score twice to get within two again at 10-8 in the fifth against reliever A.J. Bogucki, but runs in the eighth and ninth for Potomac eventually sealed the win for Potomac. Those late runs were brought in against relievers J.T. Hintzen and Michael Petersen of the Mudcats. 
Hintzen struck out three and worked through a season high three innings with just the one run allowed one four hits. Petersen pitched the final two innings and allowed a run on two hits.
Carolina's final two runs came across in the seventh and ninth on run scoring hits from Joantgel Segovia. Segovia went 3-for-4 with two runs, three RBI and a walk in the loss for the Mudcats. His run scoring hits came off relievers Carson Teel and Frankie Bartow as they combined on the final four innings of the game for the visiting Nationals. Teel (1-0, 2.08L struck out five over two innings while getting the win and Bartow (S, 1) allowed just the one unearned run on one hit over the eighth and ninth innings to pick up the save.
In the end, the Nationals totaled 12 runs on 18 hits, including eight doubles and two triples, while opening up the three game series with a 12-0 victory. The Mudcats will next play on Saturday night beginning at 5:00 p.m. at Five County Stadium 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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