Cannon Ballers Fall for Second Time in 21-5 Loss to Fredericksburg
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – For just the sixth time all season, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers pitching staff surrendered double-digit runs by their opponent, falling, 21-5, to the Fredericksburg Nationals Saturday night at Atrium Health Ballpark. With the loss, the Ballers see their win streak snapped at three games against the FredNats,
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – For just the sixth time all season, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers pitching staff surrendered double-digit runs by their opponent, falling, 21-5, to the Fredericksburg Nationals Saturday night at Atrium Health Ballpark.
With the loss, the Ballers see their win streak snapped at three games against the FredNats, now dropping their second of their last nine games. Fredericksburg jumps to now 70 wins on the season, 15 games over .500 while still pushing to clinch a second-half title in the North division.
RHP Ricardo Brizuela tossed his worst outing of the season, allowing four earned runs in three innings with six hits. Three bullpen arms combined for just four innings, allowing a total of 14 runs and 11 hits before Mason Dinesen tossed a pair of shutout innings to close out the final two frames.
Kannapolis failed to find the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth, already trailing 17-0 at the hands of the Nationals when T.J. McCants crushed an RBI triple and Ronny Hernandez notched an RBI single soon after to put a pair of runs on the board.
The Ballers finished strong in Saturday’s blowout defeat, outscoring the Nationals 3-0 in the final two innings of the game with a three-run bottom of the ninth. Lyle Miller-Green doubled to score Jeral Perez, followed quickly by an RBI for Sam Antonacci on a fielder’s choice. George Wolkow completed the inning with a sacrifice fly, putting Kannapolis at five runs in the game. Despite the hard charge late, the effort came up far too short for the Cannon Ballers, who will search for a series win in the series finale.
RHP Tanner McDougal gets the start for Kannapolis in the home finale of the 2024 Carolina League regular season. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. from Atrium Health Ballpark, where Kannapolis will celebrate the evening with Fan Appreciation Night capped by postgame fireworks.
Fans can purchase tickets for Sunday’s game or any remaining Cannon Ballers home games at kcballers.com or at the F&M Bank Box Office located at Atrium Health Ballpark.