David Sweeting and Eugene Pratt hooked up in a pitchers’ dual for four innings Saturday, as the Duracell Nationals and Million Air Royals battled in a one-game, sudden death, loser-goes-home game.


In the top of the first inning, Sweeting retired the Royals 1-2-3, while teammate Hilton Bowleg hit a tremendous home run shot to give the Nationals the lead in the bottom of the same inning.


Sweeting again retired the Royals three-up, three-down in the top of the second and the score remained 1-0 until the top of the third, when the Royals scored a run on a fielding error to tie the score at one apiece.


Bowleg grounded out to third for the Nationals, while Sherman Ferguson walked then stole second. Next batter, Brandon Murray, struck out, but was called safe at first when the Royals catcher dropped the pitch. Ferguson moved onto third base. Sweeting’s pop up out to second allowed Ferguson to tag up at third and cross home plate to make the score 2-1 at the end of the third inning.


The Royals scored a run in the top of the fourth inning to again tie the game at 2. Murray came in to replace Sweeting on the mound, after Sweeting walked the lead off batter in the top of the fifth inning. Sweeting moved to short stop, but the Royals went on to score four runs to put them ahead 6-2, and clearly in the driver’s seat.


But Ferguson blasted a shot of his own in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the Royals lead and keep Nationals’ hopes alive. Unrelenting, the Royals scored another run in the top of the sixth, making the score 7-3 and seemingly sealing the Nationals’ fate. However, as the young Nationals team has done all season long, they scratched and fought back.


With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, the Nationals managed to load the bases with Scott Brown, Corbin Abila and Dmetri Haines. With fans gathered from other fields to watch what the end of the contest, Bowleg stepped to the plate. Bases loaded and two outs, the Nationals needed four runs just to tie the game.


In what proved to be a most unlikely turn of events, and the deciding factor of the game, Bowleg crushed his second home run of the day--a grand slam--to tie the game.


Still with one out to go, the Royals decided to walk the next batter, Ferguson, who quickly stole second and third. Murray followed Ferguson at the plate, and blooped a single into left center field to bring Ferguson home and secure an 8-7 victory for the Nationals in one of the most exciting comebacks of the year.