Home Big early inning, shutdown relief push Fredericksburg Nationals to 7-3 win at Augusta
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Big early inning, shutdown relief push Fredericksburg Nationals to 7-3 win at Augusta

Chris Graham

fredericksburg nationals A four-run second inning, and four scoreless innings from the bullpen, powered the Fredericksburg Nationals to a 7-3 win over the Augusta Greenjackets on Saturday.

The Greenjackets, the Low-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, got on the board quickly in game five of the series, as Ambioris Tavarez lashed a leadoff double in the bottom of the fourth. After a flyout, EJ Exposito plated Tavarez with a line drive single.

But in the top of the second, the FredNats, the Low-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, answered right back. Blake Klassen led off with a walk, and he took second base on a wild pitch. Wilmer Perez then drove him in with an RBI single the other way to tie the game.

After Cortland Lawson walked, John McHenry gave the FredNats a 2-1 lead with his base hit to right field, with Perez scoring. Lawson effectively stole home later in the frame on a bad throw back from the catcher after a strikeout, which gave the Nationals a third run, before Sammy Infante flipped a single into shallow left, bringing McHenry in to make it a 4-1 game.

Augusta got a run back in the home fourth on a Tyler Collins single, and cut it to a two-run deficit again on a RBI groundout in the fifth. But in the top of the sixth, McHenry clubbed his first FredNat home run, then Roismar Quintana tacked on in the seventh to make it 7-3 FredNats.

Pedro Gonzalez worked a scoreless seventh out of the FredNat bullpen, then Marquis Grissom Jr. fired two shutout frames to lock down a 7-3 Fredericksburg win.

Jose Atencio improved to 4-4 this season with the win, giving up three runs on eight hits in five innings, striking out four and walking two, while Adam Shoemaker fell to 0-6.

In the series finale tomorrow afternoon, Luke Young goes up against righty Seth Keller.

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].