Nats Roll Over Sox in Series Opener

FREDERICKSBURG, VA - The Nats’ top two draft picks made their professional debuts, and played key roles in a 8-1 FredNat victory. Fredericksburg is now 27-16 (62-47), and Salem is 24-19 (58-51).

Seaver King, taken 10th overall by Washington, drove in his first professional run in the bottom of the first inning on a ground out to third base, putting FXBG up 1-0. The Nats tacked on another two runs one inning later, thanks to an E2 and an RBI single from Everett Cooper III.

Salem got a run back in the third inning, when Nazzan Zanatello hit into a 6-4-3 double play that scored Kelvin Diaz.

In the home fifth, Fredericksburg opened the floodgates offensively. Elijah Green walked and stole second base, then scored on Seaver King’s first professional hit to make it 4-1 Nats. Caleb Lomavita pushed the lead to 5-1 with an RBI liner to center field, then scored from second on a Cristhian Vaquero’s single. Later in the frame, with two outs now, Jorgelys Mota smacked an RBI double to give the Nats a 7-1 lead.

The FredNat bullpen was extremely sharp, working with a big cushion. Austin Amaral, Samuel Vasquez, and Bubba Hall combined for five shutdown innings, to close out a 8-1 win for Fredericksburg. Amaral (4-1) got the win on his line, and Danny Kirwin (4-1) suffered his first loss.

In game two, Travis Sykora (3-3, 2.42) faces off against Conor Steinbaugh (5-2, 2.96) in a 7:05 start.