Frizzell mashes trifecta for FredNats

It was one of those nights for Single-A Fredericksburg, as the team erupted for 23 runs on 20 hits, and it was one of those performances for Will Frizzell, who contributed three of those knocks -- all of which left the yard.

The Nationals infield prospect clubbed a trio of long balls, while driving in a career-high seven runs and scoring four times to lead the charge as the FredNats flexed to a 23-8 victory over Down East at Virginia Credit Union Stadium on Friday. The seven RBIs marked the second most in a single game by a player in the Carolina League this season.

It's the first career milestone for the Nationals' 2021 eighth-round Draft selection, and the first three-homer game in Fredericksburg's two-year history. Frizzell only posted one other multihomer game in his pro career, and that occurred on Aug. 9 against Augusta.

"It feels good to get my first one ever," Frizzell said. "I feel like I got that feat conquered now. But it was good to just get the barrel on the ball tonight."

Against the Wood Ducks, Frizzell capped a four-run first inning for Fredericksburg with his first three-run jack of the contest. Following an RBI single by third-ranked Nationals prospect James Wood that opened the scoring and put runners at first and second with no outs, the 23-year-old stepped in against Down East starter Gavin Collyer and didn't waste any time. Frizzell connected on the first offering from the right-hander and sent a laser over the wall in right-center for his seventh Carolina League dinger.

"A guy like [Wood] that's so young and he's just such a mature hitter -- and very easy to learn from -- just his tendencies and stuff like that, he's just so advanced for his age," Frizzell said. "He's really fun to hit behind, that's for sure."

In the following frame, the situation was nearly identical as Frizzell again faced Collyer with a pair of runners on base, this time with two outs. After taking ball one low, the Texas A&M product did not miss an inside heater and belted a moonshot to right for his second three-run tater.

After lifting a flyout to center in the fifth, Frizzell led off the seventh with a four-pitch walk off of Jackson Leath. He wouldn't spend much time on the basepaths though, as T.J. White lifted his own roundtripper to right-center four pitches later. Frizzell batted again in the frame, and flied out to center again, as the FredNats sent 18 batters to the plate and posted a 13-run inning.

With the game out of hand in the eighth, the Wood Ducks sent backup catcher Liam Hicks to the hill. Frizzell led off the frame and looked at two pitches out of the zone before Hicks battled back to level the count at 2-2. The fifth-pitch of the at-bat crossed the plate at 68 mph and the 6-foot-5, 225-pound lefty-swinger did not miss it. Frizzell launched the ball to right-center to clinch the milestone effort and notch his ninth homer of the year.

"The thought of [a third homer] is in the back of my head, for sure. But I wasn't going up there hacking for it," Frizzell said. "Honestly, it was a weird at-bat for me because I don't think I ever faced a position player before. So I went up there wondering if he was even going to throw me a strike. I guess it just worked out.

"But that was my first at-bat that I didn't have runners on. In all the other at-bats, with runners on, my first thought is always just trying to score those guys."

Frizzell opened the year with the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Nationals and went 14-for-32 with four doubles, six walks, 14 RBIs and seven runs scored over 11 games. He was promoted to Single-A Fredericksburg on July 22 and is sporting a .337/.376/.684 slash line with 15 extra-base hits, six walks, 27 RBIs and 17 runs scored in 22 Carolina League games.

Meanwhile, Wood turned in the third four-hit performance of his season. MLB's No. 35 overall prospect collected a pair of doubles, two singles, scored four times and drove in a pair of runs. Wood's other two four-knock efforts came on July 31 for Single-A Lake Elsinore and on Aug. 5, also against Down East.