Farm System Weekend Wrap

The Columbus Clippers (AAA) had a successful weekend, knocking off Indianapolis twice in closely contested outings.  Saturday night,t he Clippers outlasted Indianapolis 5-4 behind Garrett Mock.  Mock tossed 7 innings of quality ball, allowing 3 earned runs on 7 strikeouts.  Mock improved to 4-2 with an ERA of 3.12. Chris Booker recorded his 8th save.  Offensively, the Clippers were powered by home runs by Yurendell de Caster (10) and Larry Broadway (5).  de Caster knocked in three runs.  Frank Diaz remains on a tear since his promotion to AAA, he was 3 for 4 with 2 runs and is hitting .346.
Yesterday, Columbus downed Indianapolis 4-2 behind a strong mound performance from Dennis Tankersly.  He threw 6 quality innings giving up 2 runs, but did not factor int he decision.  Steve Shell is causing Washington to take a look as he continues to dominate out of the Clipper bullpen.  he picked up his third win (3-2), pitching 2 scoreless innings.  He is not 3-21 with an ERA of 2.76.  Ranier Olmedo and Ed Rogers each knocked in a run while Jemel Spearman drive in two.
The Clippers improved overall to 39-30 and now just sit 1 GAME out of first place int he International League’s  Western Division.
The Harrisburg Senators (AA) split two over the weekend with Bowie.  On Saturday, Adrian Alaniz, recently promoted from Potomac after going 9-0 with a 2.62 ERA, pitched 6 scoreless innings in his first AA start.  He did not factor int he decision, but what a first AA performance by the 2007 8th round draft pick.  Alaniz allowed only 3 hits and struck out 2.   Josh Perreault blew the save and decision for Alaniz, but picked up the win.   C Luke Montz hit homer number 13 while Luis Jiminez conne3cted on number 10.  Jiminez, Michael Daniel, and Roger Bernadina each had two hits while Andrew LaFave was 3 for 4.
Yesterday, Harrisburg fell 5-2 to Bowie.  Mike Hinckley (2-2) took the loss yielding 3 runs in 5 innings.  The Senators managed only two hits.
The Potomac Nationals (A) won 5-2 Friday night behind Guiseppe Norrito’s 6 inning, 1 run ball.  Norrito improved to 4-1.  Edgar Beaz hit homer number 10 and drive in 3 runs.  Francisco Plascencia hit his second homer.  Matt Rogelstad was 2 for 5.  Leonard Davuis was 1 for 4 and has hit safely in 5 straight games and 8 of his last 9 games.  Baez has hit in 9 straight games and during that stretch is hitting .500 with 14 RBIs and 3 HRs.
Potomac fell yesterday 3-2 to Frederick.  Carlos Martinez took the loss out of the pen giving up 2 hits and a run in a third of an inning.  Leonard Davis was 3 for 5 with a double and a run.  He is not hitting .328.  Edgar Baez had two more hits and improved his average to .297.  The Nationals fell 2-0 in the second game of a double header.  Justin Jones pitched 4 innings of 1 run ball, but took the loss.  Trevor Lawhorn doubled and had tow hits.
Hagerstown Suns (Low A) dropped a 7-3 decision to Lakewood Saturday night.  Bradley Meyers was pounded for 6 runs in 4 innings.  Tim Pahuta hit homer number 8, Aaron Suess hit number 9, and Michael Burgess hit number 13.
The Suns got even yesterday defeating Lakewood 6-2.  Eric Arneson made his second start and was impressive, pitching 5 innings, scattering 6 hits, striking out 6, and yielding a run.  Arnesen improved to 6-1 and lowered his ERA to 4.50.  Michael burgess continue to provide the power hitting his 14th homer to retake the Washington Nationals system lead in home runs.  He was 2 for 4 and improved his average to .262.  Brandon Whiting continues playing well going 3 for 5 with a double and a run.  Bill Rhinehart and Aaron Suess each had 2 hits.  Suess is now hitting .308.  Hagerstown si 34-35, 6.5 games out of first.