Freddies Land Final Punch in 11-9 Victory

FREDERICKSBURG, VA - The Sunday series finale featured 20 total runs and 21 hits, with the FredNats coming out on top 11-9. The Nats are now 29-19 (64-50), and Salem is 27-21 (61-53).

Salem grabbed the early lead with two runs in the top of the second inning, but the Freddies hit right back. Nick Peoples delivered the first knock with an RBI single into center field, before Elijah Green put the Nationals in front with his two-run triple. Seaver King tacked on another run later in the frame to make it 4-2 Freddies.

That advantage was short lived, as Salem’s Nelly Taylor smoked a bases-clearing triple in the top of the third, which made it 5-4 Salem. The back-and-forth continued in the bottom half, when Brenner Cox drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at five apiece.

Salem went on to score three unanswered runs through the fourth and fifth innings, opening up a three run advantage, 8-5. But in the bottom of the sixth, Fredericksburg trimmed the deficit to just one run on another RBI grounder by Seaver King, and a balk that brought Elijah Green home from third base. Nick Peoples then brought the Nats level in the home seventh, with a solo home run over the bullpen in right field.

Merrick Baldo dealt a scoreless eighth inning to keep the game tied, then Fredericksburg capitalized in the home half. Seaver King got hit by a pitch with one out, then stole second base and moved to third on a wild pitch, before a walk to Brandon Pimentel forced a pitching change for Salem. Nate Rombach then greeted Luis Talavera with a go-ahead double down the left field line, putting the Nats up 9-8. Jake Lowery pinch-ran for Rombach with Cristhian Vaquero, and later a wild pitch allowed Pimentel to score and Vaquero to take third base. With the speedy Vaquero at third now, Journeys Mota brought him in with a tapper right in front of the plate to give FXBG a 11-8 lead.

Anthony Arguelles took the ball in the ninth inning, and allowed a leadoff home run to bring the score to 11-9, but retired the next three hitters to preserve the win for the FredNats. Baldo (2-1) got the ‘W’ on his line, Francis Hernandez (4-8) took the loss, and Arguelles got his eighth save of the year.

Fredericksburg begins a two-week road trip with a series against the Columbia Fireflies, beginning Tuesday, August 20th.