Home Fredericksburg Nationals blitz Myrtle Beach Pelicans, 12-2, to snap losing skid
Sports News

Fredericksburg Nationals blitz Myrtle Beach Pelicans, 12-2, to snap losing skid

Chris Graham

fredericksburg nationals The Fredericksburg Nationals snapped a four-game slide with a resounding 12-2 victory over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on Saturday.

Luke Young was excellent on the bump for the FredNats, the Low-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, as he worked through the first three innings without allowing a run.

Then in the bottom of the third, Cortland Lawson and Leandro Emiliani each singled, and Sammy Infante walked to load the bases. Drew Gray then walked Paul Witt to force in a run, and the Pelicans replaced him with Angel Hernandez. He faced Max Romero Jr. who drove in two runs with a double off of the batter’s eye in center field to give the Nats a 3-0 edge.

John McHenry followed with his own RBI single, and Christopher De La Cruz brought the fifth run home with a sacrifice fly to give Fredericksburg a 5-0 lead.

Myrtle Beach, the Low-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, did have an answer in the very next half inning. After Andy Garriola reached base, Parker Chavers deposited a 1-0 offering from Young on to the top of the picnic garden in right field for a two-run homer to cut the score to 5-2.

From there, FredNats pitching stole the show. Young finished up his night with a scoreless fifth, as he allowed just the two runs while striking out four Pelicans. Bubba Hall followed him with two spotless frames of his own, allowing just a base hit and a walk.

Fredericksburg was then able to tack on some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth thanks to some erratic command on the mound. Yovanny Cabrera walked the bases loaded, and Emiliani then took advantage with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-2.

Infante and Romero Jr. each ripped RBI singles to push two more runs across, and De La Cruz was walked with the bases loaded by catcher Malcom Quintero to make it 9-2.

Armando Cruz then dealt the final blow with a bases-clearing double to give the Nats a 12-2 lead.

Matt Merrill closed it down in the ninth inning, to give Fredericksburg a 12-2 win.

Merrill got the save, Luke Young got the win, and Noah Gray suffered the loss.

Jarlin Susana toes the slab for the second time this week on Sunday, against Kevin Valdez.

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, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].