Nelo takes loss in Eastern League All-Star Game; Souza earns SAL weekly honor

Chris Rahl and Erik Davis made contributions, but in the end, the Eastern division beat the Western division All-Stars 5-4 in the Double-A Eastern League Midsummer Classic from Reading, Pa. With the scored tied 4-4, Harrisburg closer Hector Nelo was not on target in the bottom of the ninth. Nelo got the call with two outs and walked Troy Hanzawa. Kevin Mahoney singled and Hanzawa went to third. Eric Campbell then singled in Hanzawa for the game-winning run, and Nelo took the loss. Rahl smacked a RBI single and Davis struck out two in the sixth inning, his one inning of work. Jeff Kobernus went 1-for-2, singling in his first at-bat. Rahl's run-scoring single came in the second frame. Eury Perez went 0-for-4 but threw out a runner at second base on an outfield assist. High Single-A Potomac lost at Delaware, 6-2. The P-Nats took their only lead in the second on a double by David Freitas that scored Blake Kelso and Ricky Hague. Adam Obrychowski took the loss (4-7), allowing six runs, five earned in 6 2/3 innings. Low Single-A Hagerstown rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat Greensboro 4-3 on a RBI sac fly by third baseman Justin Miller in the eighth. He finished 1-for-2 with a double. Outfielder Steven Souza, Jr., was named South Atlantic League Player of the Week, the first such honor for a Suns position player this season. Souza went 9-for-27 (.333) with four doubles, five home runs and 12 RBIs from July 2-8. He has 15 homers and 63 RBIs this season. This has been a great bounce back season for Souza since a rough ending last season in Potomac. Souza has rebuilt his game and his mindset and has made a "180-degree turn," according to a Nationals source, to make a major impact offensively for the Suns. At 6-foot-3, 220-lb., Souza has the frame and the tools to continue to progress up the Nationals' ladder and is certainly one to watch, as always, in the system.