Nats' Bullpen Fires Six Scoreless in 5-3 Win

MYRTLE BEACH, SC - Six shutout innings from the FredNat bullpen helped pave the way to a 5-3 Fredericksburg victory, in the series opener. Fredericksburg improved to 23-11 with the win, while the Pelicans fell to 13-20 on the year.

Myrtle Beach took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning, on an RBI double from cleanup man Alfonsin Rosario. However, that was short-lived.

After Jose Colmenares drew a one-out walk in the second inning, the FredNat lineup sprung to life. Brenner Cox’s single put runners on first and second, when Armando Cruz doubled down the left field line to plate Colmenares and tie the game. Everett Cooper III singled after that to plate Cox, before a two-run double from Cristhian Vaquero made it a four-run inning for Fredericksburg.

The Pelicans battled back with two runs in the bottom of the frame, and nearly took the lead. Christian Olivo drove a ball to the left field corner, but Jeremy De La Rosa leaped and robbed what would have been a three-run home run. Instead, he preserved a 4-3 lead for the Nationals.

From there, pitching became the story of the night. Myrtle Beach got two shutout innings from Dominic Hambley, and two more from Kenyi Perez. For the Nationals, Mason Denaburg and Moises Diaz combined for five scoreless innings, as they held on to a 4-3 edge.

In the top of the ninth inning, Brandon Pimentel provided a massive insurance run with his two-out, RBI single to make it 5-3.

FredNat closer Thomas Schultz entered in the bottom of the ninth inning, and gave up a walk and single to put runners on the corners with just one out. But he induced a game-ending double play to secure a 5-3 FXBG win. It was the seventh save for Schultz this year, with Mason Denaburg (3-0) getting the win and Erian Rodriguez (2-3) taking home the loss.

In game two, Bryan Polanco (4-0, 2.49) squares off against Mason McGwire (0-0, 3.72) in a 12:05 start.