Suns' Kieboom completes home run hat trick

The Nationals scored 23 runs behind three homers from Anthony Rendon on Sunday, but Carter Kieboom and the Class A Hagerstown Suns showed that the big leaguers weren't the only ones in the organization who could put on an offensive show.
The Nats' fourth-ranked prospect clubbed three homers, went 5-for-7 and drove in five runs as Hagerstown rolled past Lexington, 22-4, at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. The Suns totaled a South Atlantic League-record 30 hits, eclipsing the previous mark of 29 set by Greenville on June 25, 2005.

"I've been a part of a lot of games where there's been a lot of hits, but nothing like that," Kieboom said.
Box score
The 19-year-old doubled to left field with one out in the first inning, then swatted a leadoff shot to left off Legends starter Andre Davis in the third to give the Suns a 2-0 lead. An inning later, he made it a six-run advantage with a two-run blast to left. Sheldon Neuse and Jake Noll followed suit, allowing Kieboom to be a part of back-to-back-to-back homers.

"That was very cool," he said. "I've never been a part of something like that before. To see Sheldon Neuse and Jake Noll come up behind me and do that was pretty cool. We're all pretty good buddies and that was a special moment."
Kieboom's third homer came in the seventh and capped a seven-pitch battle with reliever Vance Tatum.
"That was probably my best at-bat of the day," the 28th overall pick in last year's Draft said. "I fouled off a ball or two and saw a lot of pitches; I saw everything [Tatum] threw. The last pitch was a fastball away, and at that point I'm looking for something up. I got it and put a good swing on it."
After circling the bases, Kieboom returned to an almost silent dugout.
"It was kind of like, 'Really, that just happened?'" he said with a laugh.
The Georgia high school product entered the game with six career homers in 56 games. In the span of seven innings, he surpassed his season total in long balls while producing more than half as many RBIs as he began with (nine). Kieboom said nothing was different about the way he hit on Sunday.
"It was just one of those days," he explained. "Sometimes baseball is a crazy sport. Sometimes you wake up and you get in the box and it just happens."

Noll finished 5-for-7 and drove in four runs. Aldrem Corredor collected five hits for Hagerstown, falling a homer shy of the cycle, and scored three times. Jorge Tillero also racked up five hits, while Nationals No. 15 prospect Anderson Franco set a career high with five RBIs on a homer and two doubles.
Yonathan Ramirez started for the Suns and yielded a hit and two walks while fanning one in four scoreless frames. Steven Fuentes (1-0) got the win, despite surrendering four runs on eight hits with two strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings.
Davis (2-2) was roughed up for seven runs on eight hits and three walks, fanning three, in 3 2/3 frames for the Legends.