Down East Pitching Handcuffs Nationals

FREDERICKSBURG, VA - The Wood Ducks jumped ahead early and never looked back in a 6-3 win on Education Day. Fredericksburg now sits at 15-8 this season, and Down East is 11-11.

Travis Sykora made his professional debut for the FredNats, and got through the first inning unscathed. But Tommy Specht tagged him for a run in the second, and the Wood Ducks scored two more in the top of the third to chase Sykora, and grab an early 3-0 lead.

Elijah Green launched a solo home run to dead center field in the home half of the fifth to get the FredNats on the board. But in the very next half inning, Down East’s JoJo Blackmon connected for a two-run shot to put the Wood Ducks in front 5-1.

An E6 in the bottom of the eighth helped the Nationals cut their deficit to just two runs, but the Wood Ducks added an insurance run in the 9th, and wrapped up a 6-3 win over the FredNats. Brayan Mendoza (1-0) got the win with five innings of strong relief work, while Sykora (0-1) took the loss in his debut.

For game three of the series, Jose Atencio (1-1, 2.04) gets the nod for the Nats against the southpaw Kohl Drake (0-0, 1.08). First pitch is at 7:05.