Sykora Paves the Way for 5-2 FredNat Win

MYRTLE BEACH, SC - It began as a pitcher’s duel, but Fredericksburg broke through first and took down the Pelicans 5-2. The FredNats are now 24-12, while Myrtle Beach drops to 14-21.

Game three of this series held scoreless through five innings, thanks to superb starting pitching. Travis Sykora made his third start for the Nats, and spun four one-hit innings, with six strikeouts. But Myrtle Beach’s Kenten Egbert topped that, with five perfect innings to begin his evening.

That perfection ended quickly in the top of the sixth inning, as Marcus Brown opened the frame with a leadoff triple. He came in to score the first run of the night, on a sac fly from Nate Ochoa. Cristhian Vaquero kept the inning rolling with a walk, then swiped second base and advanced to third on a balk. Gavin Dugas then plated him with a RBI grounder to third base, giving Fredericksburg a 2-0 edge. After a pitching change, Jeremy De La Rosa greeted the new arm with a first pitch home run to make it 3-0 FredNats.

Myrtle Beach battled back with a couple runs of their own in the home half, cutting the score to 3-2.

Brandon Pimentel provided some breathing room in the eighth, as he drove in his league-best 42nd run with a double to make it 4-2. Then in the ninth inning, Marcus Brown shot a single back up the middle to score Elijah Green.

Three runs was more than enough cushion for Thomas Schultz, who secured a four out save in a 5-2 Nationals win. Kevin Rodriguez (1-0) got the official win, Kenten Egbert (1-2) took the hard-luck loss, with Schultz picking up his eighth save.

In game four, Jarlin Susana (0-4, 7.58) takes to the hill against Nick Dean (1-0, 2.95) in a 7:05 start at Pelicans Ballpark.