Mudcats Hit for Cycle in Ninth as Rally Falls Short, 7-5

Woodbridge, Va. - Trailing 7-1 going into the ninth inning, the Carolina Mudcats made things interesting as they hit for the collective cycle, but the Potomac Nationals were able to escape with a 7-5 win on Thursday night at Pfitzner Stadium. Potomac (26-32, 57-71) took the series, winning three in a row.

Michael Goodnight (2-13) suffered another loss, allowing six runs on six hits over six innings, and Carolina drops to 28-32 in the second half, 60-70 on the year.

Alex Meyer (3-2) was tough in his seventh start for Potomac. The right-hander made a quality start by limiting the Mudcats to one run on five hits over six innings.

With things looking secure for the Nationals in the ninth, Potomac decided to give their closer Rob Wort an inning of work, but things didn't go well for the right-hander. Tyler Cannon drew a walk to start the frame, and scored on a one-out triple by Todd Hankins. The left fielder scored easily as the next batter, Delvi Cid, doubled to right, making it 7-3.

Tony Wolters cracked a home run over and out to right for the third hit of the inning. The blast cut the deficit to down to two. Justin Toole immediately followed with a single to complete the cycle, but that would be all the Mudcats could muster as Wort rebounded to retire the final two batters.

The P-Nats stormed to a big lead early, scoring six runs over the first four innings. Steven Souza Jr. launched a deep blast out to center for a 2-0 lead in the first. Potomac tacked on a run in the second and third before scoring two more in the fourth. Their final tally came in the seventh.

The Carolina Mudcats return home to host the Salem Red Sox for three games on August 24. Tickets are available by calling (919) 269-2287 or visiting carolinamudcats.com.