FredNats drop road finale in back-and-forth defeat

In the final road game of their inaugural season, the Fredericksburg Nationals fell 4-3 to the Delmarva Shorebirds on Sunday afternoon.

An early two-run homer from José Sánchez gave the FredNats a lead until the final innings, when a pair of big two-out hits gave the Shorebirds a split in the six-game series.

Sánchez blasted his third homer of the year against Jean Pinto in the second inning, putting the FredNats up 2-0. Jackson Rutledge had his second solid start in a row, allowing only one run on three scratch singles over 4.0 innings.

The FredNats couldn’t extend their lead against Pinto, who ultimately went 6.0 innings in long relief. The 2-1 lead held until the bottom of the seventh, when Dustin Saenz allowed two Delmarva baserunners to reach and Lucas Knowles allowed a two-out, two-run double to Reed Trimble that put the Shorebirds in front 3-2.

In the eighth, Juan Paulino answered back for the FredNats with a leadoff double against Daniel Lloyd (W, 1-0) and scored from second on a sacrifice bunt from Jacob Young. Lloyd left the potential go-ahead run at second, however, and a two-out RBI single from Billy Cook against Michael Kirian (L, 0-1) in the bottom of the eighth put Delmarva back in front for good.

The FredNats finished their road schedule with a 17-43 record, and will play their final six games at home against the Lynchburg Hillcats beginning on Tuesday. First pitch from FredNats Ballpark is scheduled for 7:05, with FredNats On Deck beginning at 6:50 on the FredNats Baseball Network.