The Salem Red Sox were looking to sweep the Potomac Nationals out of the Roanoke Valley on another hot, sunny day over Salem Memorial Ballpark but the P-Nats had other plans, beating Salem 9-4.
It was the Potomac pitching that led the way for the Nationals from the get-go. Pitcher Sammy Solis showed his professional abilities, pitching eight straight scoreless innings while his offense rallied right along with him.
Scoring a total of nine runs in four innings proved to be just too much for the Sox to overcome in the final game of the series. This now ends the series 3-1 in favor of Salem after winning the first three of the weekend.
And though they won the series, I’d bet they would like to hit the rewind button for Monday night’s outing as they weren’t hitting well and didn’t post a run until the seventh inning. It was simply too little too late for the Sox as they scored four runs in the last three innings but failed to make a legitimate comeback.
Despite the Sox proving they aren’t perfect (after winning four straight and six of their last seven) there was actually an ecstatic crowd on hand at LewisGale Field.
Sure, the Sox weren’t winning but that didn’t seem to matter to Monday’s crowd.
Most, if not all, fans stayed until the last pitch of the game! One fan specifically (the guy with the really loud whistle and clap) had an on going challenge all night with the production person who runs the music up in the booth…they were trying to see who could draw the better response, “CHARGE”, from fans after whistling the classic offensive chant.
Another thing I noticed about Monday night was live game footage on the video board. After reading what was a subtle but heated email from a passionate Sox fan on a fellow bloggers column, it looks like the staff had taken her advice about putting live fans on the video board as there were several instances where they showed the fans, players and mascot, Mugsy.
Personally, I like the idea of live game/fan footage. It gives fans something to cheer about and when they see their face on that big screen in right, center field…their night is without a doubt made! For what fans get out of seeing themselves up there and the amount of effort it takes to get them up there, it’s absolutely worth it.
In terms of the team, they will have the day off to rest on Tuesday, and then head out of town to face the Fredrick Keys in a four-game series that will wrap up this Saturday.
For fans, the Sox will be back in town on Wednesday, July 24. They will face the Fredrick Keys again in a four-game series where they will look to secure the last playoff position in the Southern Division.
Though the Sox will be away from Salem for the next week, be on the look out for a new section of my column. It will be called “Insider Extra” where I will get inside information from players, coaches and managers as the playoffs approach. This week, “Insider Extra” will first feature Sox manager, Billy McMillion.
Stay tuned…
