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Cannon Ballers mount late comeback to win 6-5, take series with FredNats

Chris Graham

Fredericksburg NationalsKannapolis scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth to come back from a three-run deficit to knock off the FredNats 6-5 in the series finale in front of 4,744 fans at Virginia Credit Union Stadium. Fredericksburg led 5-2 after seven innings, but couldn’t close out the victory. The FredNats drop their first series of the season after Kannapolis took four out of the six games.

Both starters did well in the game, with Brendan Collins turning in a career-high 5.1 innings for Fredericksburg. He surrendered four hits and only two earned runs with six strikeouts, and exited the game with the lead.

The FredNats scored first in the game, with Jeremy De La Rosa driving in his Carolina League-best 30th run of the season with a double in the 3rd. Kannapolis bounced back with two runs of their own in the 4th against Collins, but the FredNats answered once again.

T.J. White drove in the first run of the frame with an RBI single, and then Viandel Peña did the same. Yoander Rivero then came in to score on a balk by Kannapolis to push the lead to 4-2.

The FredNats got another tally in the 5th when Branden Boissiere scored on a wild pitch to stretch the lead to 5-2.

Wilfred Veras of Kannapolis continued his unbelievable series with a two-run homer in the 8th to dead center off Jose Ferrer, the first runs Ferrer has allowed all season. The Cannon Ballers then scored two more in the 9th off a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly against Tyler Schoff, who took the loss.
The FredNats were 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position in the loss.

Fredericksburg will now look to bounce back when they travel to Salisbury, MD to take on the Delmarva Shorebirds in a six-game set. First pitch in Tuesday’s game is scheduled for 11:05 a.m., and lefty Dustin Saenz is scheduled to start for Fredericksburg.

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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].