Frederick Comes Back to beat Potomac 6-4

finally got what they wanted Wednesday. Pitcher Cameron Selik had a quick first inning, and their offense put up three first-inning runs. They were ahead, got timely hits, and appeared to be in for a good offensive night.

"After the first inning we felt great," first baseman Justin Bloxom said. "We put a three-spot up."

But their lead would evaporate over the next four innings as starting pitcher Selik could never quite shut down the Keys. In the end, the Nationals lost 6-4 to Frederick, their third loss in a row.

Eury Perez started the first inning with a double. After Jeff Kobernus' base hit left runners at first and third with one out, Justin Bloxon smashed a triple  and gave the Nationals a 2-0 lead. Destin Hood then doubled to bring Bloxom home.

"We got [timely hits] in the first inning," Bloxom said. "Hood came through big time giving us the extra run, especially with two strikes. That was huge on his part. The rest of the game we have to follow through."

The Keys got to work in the second and began clawing their way back. Tyler Kolodny moved into scoring position after a passed ball allowed him to advance to second base. Two batters later, Steve Bumbry doubled to bring Kolodny home. It was Frederick's only hit with a runner in scoring position all night.

In the third inning, with two men out, Frederick second baseman Jonathan Schoop hit what Nationals manager Matt LeCroy called a, "lazy fly ball," to left-center field. The center fielder, Perez, seemed to be cruising in to catch it, but left fielder J.P. Ramirez called him off and tried to dive to make the catch. He missed, and Schoop was awarded a double.

Potomac paid for the miscue, as Tyler Townsend hit a sharp grounder at Bloxom that shot between his legs for an error, and Schoop scored from second base.

"Little things like that have really hurt us a lot this year," LeCroy said. "We gave them too many extra outs."

The Nationals have commited a league-worst 68 errors this season, led by Bloxom's 15. LeCroy believes that the team's defensive issues are bleeding into other elements of the team's play.

"We've got to clean it up," he said. "We're making too many mistakes, and it cost us. It's putting too much pressure on the hitters to try and regroup and putting too much pressure on our pitchers. When you get a ground ball you expect to get outs."

Mistakes, and Schoop, continued to haunt Potomac as Selik hit Trent Mummey with a pitch in the fifth inning. The next batter was none other than Schoop, who laced a double to left, which scored Mummey. Just like that, the game was tied at three.

Dean Weaver came on to pitch the next inning for Potomac and walked the leadoff man, Kolodny. Two batters later, Bumbry gave the Keys a 5-3 lead they would never relinquish with a home run blast to right-center field.

Ryan Zimmerman continued his rehabilitation stint with Potomac, but had his least productive night statistically since his return from injury. He went 0-3 with a strikeout and a walk at the plate, and committed a throwing error in the seventh inning. The error eventually led to a run for Frederick.

"I just rushed it a little bit," Zimmerman said. "I think I had a little bit more time than I thought. And thats kind of the reason that I'm getting these games in, to get used to the speed of the game again."

Zimmerman only played seven innings again Wednesday, although a Potomac spokesman said before the game that the plan was to for him to play all nine. No reason was given for his early exit.

Zimmerman said he didn't know when he would be recalled to the major leagues or if he would be promoted in the minors. Since the Washington Nationals are on a west coast road trip until Monday, and Potomac will play at home every day through Sunday, it is possible that he may remain in Potomac through the weekend and then rejoin Washington.

In the mean time, with or without Zimmerman, Potomac will look to salvage the series with Frederick Thursday night.