After a scoreless first and two quick outs in the top of the second, Murphy Stehly singled and stole second to get into scoring position. Jose Colmenares then picked up a two-strike single to drive in Stehly with the first run of the game.
Carolina responded in their half of the frame. Matt Wood and Luke Adams both walked to open it up, before Jesus Parra stepped in with two outs. He doubled down the left field line to plate both Wood and Adams, to give the ‘Cats a 2-1 edge.
The back-and-forth battle kept going in the third, as the Freddies, the Low-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, executed a first-and-third steal situation to perfection, with Brenner Cox scoring from third as Lawson was safe at second base thanks to an E2. Later in the inning, Elijah Green ripped a double on the first pitch he saw to score Lawson, which gave the Nats a 3-2 lead.
But in the fourth, Jadher Areinamo tied the game back up at 3-3 with his single up the middle to plate Luke Adams.
The fifth inning went by without a run, then in the sixth Elijah Green singled and stole second base. This time, it was Stehly’s turn to drive in Green with a single which gave Fredericksburg a one-run advantage, 4-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Mudcats quickly loaded the bases with no outs, prompting Jake Lowery to hand the ball to Kevin Rodriguez in a dire situation. But Rodriguez induced a 1-2-3 double play to get the first two outs without allowing a run to score, before fanning Jesus Parra to escape the jam unscathed. All told, the FredNat bullpen was superb. They covered 5.1 innings without allowing a single run, on just a pair of base hits and six strikeouts.
Fredericksburg added two insurance runs in the top of the eighth on an E1, as Christian Ciufetelli shut the door in the ninth for a 6-3 win. Ciufetelli got the save while Franklin Marquez took the win, and Miguel Guerrero got the loss. The Freddies return to VACU Stadium on Tuesday night to begin a six game series against the Columbia Fireflies.
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Chris Graham
