John McHenry lined a two-strike pitch for an RBI single in the top of the first inning, but Fredericksburg, the Low-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, put together a monster second inning to set the tone early. Roimsar Quintana singled on the first pitch he saw in the frame, then moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Armado Cruz.
Yoander Rivero reached first after getting hit by a pitch, then Johnathon Thomas doubled to left field to plate Quintana and move Rivero to third. John McHenry also got plunked to load the bases, before Leandro Emiliani also got hit to force in a run.
Sammy Infante kept the inning rolling with a two-run single which pushed the lead to 5-0. Max Romero Jr. got the bases loaded again with a single, before Christopher De La Cruz got plunked to force a run home, and Quintana was walked to make it 7-0 Nationals.
Rivero also walked to bring a run home later in the inning, as it turned out to be a seven-run frame for the Nats.
Augusta, the Low-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, got on the board in the home half of the second, thanks to an Eliezel Stevens double to bring one run home, before a two-run bomb by Nick Clarno cut the lead to 8-3.
Five runs would be as close as the Greenjackets got in this series finale. The Nats added four runs in the top of the fifth on an RBI double by Infante, a single by De La Cruz, and a two-run knock by Thomas. Emiliani pushed the lead to 13-4 with a base hit in the eighth, before home runs by Romero Jr. and Armando Cruz added up to a 17-4 Fredericksburg victory.
Kevin Rodriguez was the winner for the Nats, and Seth Keller was saddled with the loss.
Fredericksburg begins a two-week homestand on Tuesday against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
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Chris Graham
