Fredericksburg Drops Down East 8-5

FREDERICKSBURG, VA - The FredNats used a big second inning to take down the Down East Wood Ducks, 8-5. Fredericksburg ran their record to 16-8, and Down East is now 11-12.

Both sides plated a run in the first inning, before Fredericksburg got hot in the second. Cristhian Vaquero and Armando Cruz each got on to lead things off, then Brenner Cox smacked an RBI double back up the middle to break the tie. With runners on second and third now, Nate Ochoa drove them both in to make it a 4-1 FredNat lead. Later in the frame, Gavin Dugas hammered a two-run homer the other way to right field, making it a 6-1 Fredericksburg advantage.

Down East cut their deficit to 6-3 after two runs in the third inning, then added another in the sixth to pull within two runs. A wild pitch in the seventh allowed Fredericksburg to take a 7-4 lead, but the Ducks matched that with an RBI single in the top of the eighth inning.

However, Cristhian Vaquero made it a three-run game once again with his solo home run in the home half of the eighth. Thomas Schultz then closed the door with a flawless ninth inning, to wrap up an 8-5 Nationals win. Jose Atencio (2-1) got the win, Kohl Drake (0-1) took the loss, with Thomas Schultz picking up his fifth save.

Jarlin Susana (0-3, 6.57) is slated to start for the Nats, against Jose Gonzalez (0-1, 1.80) in a 7:05 start.