Salem's Six-Run First Precedes Showers, Suspension
Salem, VA (May 8, 2012) - A six-run deluge arrived before a fourth-inning downpour, prompting the suspension of Wednesday's action at LewisGale Field with Salem leading Potomac 6-0 in the middle of the fourth. Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Sean Coyle led off the bottom of the first with back-to-back homers, with Bradley's soaring over the left-field fence and Coyle's banging off the base of the center-field wall. Bradley circled the bases freely, while Coyle sprinted around the diamond as the ball ricocheted past the Nationals' center fielder Michael Taylor. Coyle rounded third as the ball hit the cutoff man in shallow center, then slid in safely underneath the high throw to complete the rare inside-the-park homer, giving Salem a 2-0 lead.
The Red Sox were not done after the pair of round-trippers, as Travis Shaw singled before Brandon Jacobs and Xander Bogaerts both walked to load the bases. Potomac starter Adam Olbrychowski finally recorded an out with an RBI fielder's choice grounder to second from Christian Vazquez, but an errant throw to first by shortstop by Zach Walters allowed another run to score. Michael Almanzar doubled to move Vazquez to third, and Adalberto Ibarra drilled a two-run single to left-center, surging the Sox to a 6-0 lead.
The six-run bottom-of-the-first matched Salem's largest inning of the season, equaling a six-run top-of-the-first at Potomac on April 20, a barrage that also came against Olbrychowski. Paul Applebee replaced the Nationals' righty starter after he faced ten batters, retiring just two of them. Applebee quieted the Red Sox bats in the second and third innings.
Salem starter Miguel Celestino dealt four scoreless for the Sox, earning eight of the 12 outs he recorded via ground balls and permitting just one hit. Offensively, every member of the lineup either reach base or drove in a run through three innings.
The game will resume on Wednesday at 11 AM with the Red Sox coming to bat in the bottom of the fourth. The clubs will complete the full nine innings of Tuesday's night's contest before playing another seven-inning contest.