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Sports

Potomac Nationals Head Into Playoffs

When they stopped stressing and started playing for fun, they started winning.

It would have been easy for the Potomac Nationals to become discouraged after losing 39 of 70 games in the first half of the season. But as any good minor league baseball fan knows, the slate is wiped clean after the first half of the season and for the Potomac Nationals that clean slate became a golden opportunity.

Currently leading the Carolina League with a record of 29-22, the team has come alive in the second half of the season and is playing with a new winning edge.

Closing pitcher Pat McCoy said the fresh start was exactly what the team needed.

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"We came out hot in the second half and we have just stayed hot. Our attitude has really been key in winning games," 22-year-old McCoy said.

While manager Gary Cathcart feels that his team is more a collection of good guys than a couple standout players, it is undeniable that first baseman Tyler Moore has been instrumental in the team's mid-season surge.

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Moore, who was the Carolina League player of the month in July and leads the league in statistics with 25 homeruns and 94 RBIs, said his personal slump in the first half of the season was one of the hardest adversities he had ever had to overcome.

But Moore's bat has been blazing since July when he hit .358, drove in 28 runs in 25 games and raised his batting average by 56 points since July 15. He continued to lead the team in August and picked up his third Carolina League offensive player of the week title two weeks ago.

"Our second half of the season has really proven that winning brings out the best in everyone," the Brandon, MS native Moore said. "The guys always have a smile on their faces and the energy level is really high right now. When we stopped stressing, came together as a team and played loose, the wins came too."

Cathcart said he believes the change in the team's performance can be credited to a combination of improvements both offensively and defensively.

"Inconsistency hurt us in the first half, but overall I have been very happy with the much more consistent and focused effort I have seen from the team in the second half of the season," Cathcart said. "I think now that we are in first they see how important it is to play meaningful games every night if we want to accomplish our goals of winning the division and heading to the playoffs."

Even with one of the top starting pitchers, A.J. Morris, injured for a total of nine weeks this season, pitching coach Paul Menhart noted that the pitching staff had been a strength of the team all season.

"Recently our starters haven't been giving us the quality starts that they were early on, but our bullpen has really picked things up," said Menhart, who is in his second full season with the Potomac Nationals. "As a whole the pitching staff has minimized their walks, attacked the zone, held runners better and gotten quicker to the plate."

While Morris felt his injuries were untimely, he was still able to see his first full season of professional baseball as a success.

"My injuries were unfortunate, but this year was still awesome," 23-year-old Morris said. "Seeing this team always battle back was a great learning experience."

Despite the improved second half of the season and recent winning streak, Cathcart and Menhart both agreed that a successful season isn't about wins and loses.

"My goal every year, no matter what, is to help make every one of my guys a better ball player, and get as many of them moved up as possible," said Menhart. "I think we have accomplished that goal."

Of course only time will tell how many of these young players make it big, but if the second half of their season is any indication of their future, the Potomac Nationals are definitely a team to watch.

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