Potomac, which leads leads the Carolina League in stolen bases, had nine on Friday to pace the Nationals over the Hillcats, 7-3, at City Stadium.
The Nationals jumped to a 2-0 lead after two innings.
But the Hillcats struck back in the bottom of the second. Joe Leonard singled to lead off the inning and, a batter later, Shawn McGill singled. Ryan Query drove in Leonard with a single to cut the Nationals’ lead in half.
The Hillcats took their first lead since Tuesday in the fourth inning. With two outs, McGill beat out a grounder to third. Query followed with a live drive down the right field line that rolled all the way to the corner. McGill came around to score and Query slid into third with a triple. With L.V. Ware at the plate, Query scored on a wild pitch by Nationals starter Sammy Solis, and the Hillcats led 3-2.
But things went downhill from there. The Nationals retook the lead in the top of the sixth when Jeff Kobernus walked, stole two bases, and scored on a wild pitch by Hillcats starter Corey Brewer to tie the game. Justin Bloxom also scored in the inning on an RBI single by Zach Walters, and the Nationals went ahead 4-3.
Reliever Jeremy Haynes gave up two unearned runs in the seventh inning, after he made an errant throw early in the inning. Two runs came across, and the Nationals led 6-3. They added one more in the eighth.
The final series of the season starts tonight as the Winston-Salem Dash come to City Stadium. Gary Moran (1-1) will start for the Hillcats, while the Dash will send out Cameron Bayne (12-7). The first pitch is at 6:05 p.m.
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