Freddies Lose Nail-biter 3-2

COLUMBIA, SC - The FredNats dropped a heartbreaker to the Columbia Fireflies, losing 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Columbia tagged Brad Lord in the bottom of the first inning. After Lord got two quick outs, Austin Charles singled into center field. Brett Squires then continued his big series with an RBI double off the wall in right-center to plate Charles, and give the Fireflies a 1-0 edge.

Then in the top of the third inning, Paul Witt came up with two outs against Shane Panzini, and crushed his ninth homer of the year to tie the game at 1-1. The Freddies kept the hits coming in the fourth inning, as Branden Boissiere walked and Max Romero Jr. singled to put runners on first and second. Cortland Lawson came through in a big spot for Fredericksburg, smoking a double just fair inside the left field line to bring Boissiere home for a 2-1 lead.

FredNat pitching held Columbia scoreless, until the bottom of the seventh. Lizandro Rodriguez led off the inning with a line drive, opposite field home run to left-center field which tied the game 2-2.

In the bottom of the ninth, Rodriguez led off with a walk, and moved to second base on a fielder’s choice. From there, Marquis Grissom Jr. was called for two consecutive balks, bringing Rodriguez all the way around from second base to score the winning run without a ball in play. Oscar Rayo got the win on his line, and Grissom was tagged with the loss. In the series finale, Bryan Caceres gets the ball for the FredNats, against righty Mauricio Veliz.