Nationals Outlast Salem 8-7 in 13 Innings

SALEM, VA - The FredNats and Red Sox traded blows across 13 innings of baseball, but ultimately Fredericksburg clawed their way to a 8-7 win to secure a series victory.

John McHenry gave the Nats the initial lead with a single to plate Johnathon Thomas in the top of the third, but that lead was a short one. In the bottom of the fourth, Johnfrank Salazar burned the FredNats again with his fourth home run against the club, a two-run shot to push Salem in front 2-1.

But in the top of the fifth, Elijah Nunez singled with one out, moved to second on a throw that cut down Tuda at third base, and wound up scoring on a Cristhian Vaquero single to tie the game at two.

Then in the Salem half of the fifth, Marvin Alcantara deposited a 2-0 fastball from Luke Young over the left field wall to retake the lead for the Red Sox at 3-2.

Salem pitching held the Freddies right there, until Gavin Dugas kicked off the seventh inning with his second home run of the season to tie the game at 3-3. Then in the top of the eighth, Vaquero walked as the leadoff man, moved to second base on a wild pitch, and took third on a single from Elijah Green. Max Romero Jr then plated him with a line drive to left which put Fredericksburg in front 4-3.

Salem went down in order in their half of the eighth, but Johanfran Garcia crushed a game-tying home run in the top of the ninth to send the game to extra innings.Roismar Quintana gave the Nats a one-run edge in the 10th with a fielder’s choice groundout to short, but Salem held it to just that run. Albert Feliz then tied the game in the bottom half with a double, but the Sox could not finish it there.

In the 11th, Tuda Thomas was the runner placed on second base, and he quickly moved to third on a ground ball to the second baseman. After a pop out, Cristhian Vaquero beat out an infield single that allowed Thomas to score, and put Fredericksburg up by a run.

However, Luis Ravelo singled in the home half to move Jhostynxon Garcia to third base, and Johanfran Garcia brought him in with a deep sacrifice fly to move the game on to the 12th inning. This set a new high for innings in a game for Fredericksburg, surpassing an 11-inning tilt against Lynchburg in April.

Marcus Brown stepped in with runners on the corners and nobody out, and hammered a double to right field that plated Elijah Green and moved Wilmer Perez from first to third, but Fredericksburg was unable to add more than just the one run. And of course, Salem matched that in the bottom of the inning with a run-scoring double play.

In the top of the 13th inning, with Thomas as the runner put on second, John McHenry ripped a double to put Fredericksburg in front 8-7. He moved to third on a Vaquero sac fly, but Wilmer Perez lined out to right field to end the threat.

Jared Simpson took the ball in the bottom of the 13th, and finally held Salem scoreless with a 1-2-3 inning to wrap up an 8-7 FredNat win.

Moises Diaz got the win for Fredericksburg, while Simpson earned his second pro save and second save this week, and Luis De La Rosa was the loser for Salem. The Freddies return home on Tuesday, August 29th for a crucial series against the Lynchburg Hillcats. Lynchburg is two games back of Carolina for first place in the Carolina League North, while Fredericksburg is three and a half games back of the Mudcats.