Nats take BB&T Ballpark opener with 5-4 win
Potomac wasted no time in putting the stadium's new scoreboard to use. Steve Lombardozzi walked to lead off the game and moved to second on Michael Burgess' one-out single to left field, the first hit at BB&T Ballpark. Cleanup batter Tyler Moore followed with a single to center to score Lombardozzi and give the Nationals a 1-0 lead.
Winston tied things up in the sixth inning. Brandon Short singled and moved to second when Eduardo Escobar reached on a throwing error by starter Robinson Fabian. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, Jon Gilmore beat out an infield single to score Short and even the game at one.
The National re-took the lead in the seventh when they loaded the bases with nobody out, chasing Dash starting pitcher Stephen Sauer from the contest. Hector Santiago got a pop-up and then induced a grounder to the shortstop. The Dash got one runner out at second, but the relay to first sailed past Seth Loman at first and two runs scored on the play to give the P-Nats a 3-1 lead.
The seesaw battle continued in the bottom of the seventh, as Justin Greene doubled to center with two outs. Short drove him in with a double of his own to cut the deficit to one.
Escobar then hit a sinking liner to left that Francisco Plasencia misplayed, resulting in Short scoring the tying run and Escobar at third base. Josh Phegley followed with an RBI single to center to give Winston a 4-3 lead.
Potomac tied it in the eighth after Robert Jacobson led off with a walk, reached second on a fielder's choice and stole third. Santiago was called for a balk, scoring Jacobson and tying the game at four.
Winston put two men in scoring position in the ninth, but Josh Phegley's two out fly ball was chased down by Burgess in right field to end the inning and send the contest into extras.
In the 11th, Logan Johnson led off with a walk and was replaced on the bases by Kyle Shelton. After Shelton was sacrificed to second and Greene struck out, Short singled to left field. Shelton was running on contact, but a terrific throw from Boomer Whiting and an excellent tag by catcher Brian Peacock caught Shelton out at home to end the inning and the threat.
Potomac finally scored again in the 12th when Jose Lozada walked to lead off the frame against Charlis Burdie. Lozada reached second on a bunt, third on a ground out, and scored when Burdie (0-1) uncorked a wild pitch to give the P-Nats a 5-4 lead.
Clayton Dill struck out the side in the ninth to preserve the Potomac win and earn his first save.
Cole Kimball (0-1) picked up the win with 2.1 innings of shutout relief.
The night started with festivities, as the city council, mayor, team owners and other individuals who played large roles in bringing a new ballpark to Winston-Salem. The marching band from Winston-Salem State University played throughout the pre-game and White Sox general manager Kenny Williams threw out the first pitch to his son and Dash left fielder, Kenny Williams, Jr.
The Dash tries to even the three-game series on Wednesday night when it plays the Nationals at 7 p.m. Opening Day starter Justin Edwards (1-0, 1.50) makes his second start against P-Nats righty Marcos Frias (1-0, 1.69).
The webcast pre-game show begins at 6:45 on www.wsdash.com.