The Fredericksburg Nationals ended a seven-game losing streak in their series opener against the Delmarva Shorebirds on Tuesday night, scoring the game-winning run on a wild pitch in the ninth inning for a 7-6 victory.
The win marked Fredericksburg’s first away from their home ballpark in almost a month, and dimmed Delmarva’s playoff hopes with 11 games remaining in the season.
In the first inning, the FredNats began the game with singles from Jacob Young and Darren Baker. Branden Boissiere brought home the game’s first run with a groundout, giving the FredNats a 1-0 lead.
Fredericksburg starter Jackson Rutledge pitched well, allowing only one run on one hit over 3.0 innings. A walk to Coby Mayo in the second inning was followed by a Jacob Teter double and a Donta’ Williams sacrifice fly to tie the game 1-1.
A leadoff bloop double from Viandel Peña in the third came home on a Baker RBI groundout, putting the FredNats back in front. Leandro Emiliani added his fourth homer of the year in the fourth inning to stretch the lead to 3-1.
Teter hit an RBI single against Dustin Saenz in the fourth to bring Delmarva to within a run, but the FredNats took a 6-2 lead in the sixth on a two-run triple from Jeremy De La Rosa. The throw back in from right field sailed into the Delmarva dugout, allowing De La Rosa to circle the bases. The lead would be short-lived, however, as the Shorebirds scored four runs on only one hit in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game 6-6.
The game remained tied until the top of the ninth, when Young and Baker collected two-out singles against Rickey Ramirez (L, 2-1). With Jordy Barley at the plate, Ramirez uncorked a wild pitch to score Young with the go-ahead run. Tyler Schoff (W, 1-0) worked around a single and a walk in the ninth to seal the win.
The FredNats continue their series against the Delmarva Shorebirds on Wednesday. First pitch from Perdue Stadium is scheduled for 7:05, with FredNats On Deck beginning at 6:50 on the FredNats Baseball Network.
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Chris Graham
