Mitchell Parker led a strong pitching effort for the Fredericksburg Nationals on Thursday night, but it wasn’t enough to secure the club’s first victory in a 7-3 loss to the Delmarva Shorebirds.
Parker (0-1) fanned eight batters in 3.2 innings as part of a 19-strikeout performance for the FredNats (0-9) staff. The Shorebirds were even better, as Shane Davis and Jake Prizina (W, 2-0) combined to toss 7.0 innings of two-run ball.
Delmarva left the bases full in the first before pushing a run across in the second on a sacrifice fly from Darell Hernaiz. The FredNats tied it right back up in the bottom half of the inning, as Landon Dieterich doubled off the wall in left field and scored on a single from Junior Martina, his first hit of the season. Three straight singles from Jake Boone, J.T. Arruda and Allan Berríos in the third inning briefly gave Fredericksburg a 2-1 lead.
Parker threw 81 pitches through 3.2 innings, and was lifted for Lucas Knowles with two on and two out in the fourth. Jordan Westburg doubled and Jordan Cannon singled to score three runs, putting the Shorebirds ahead for good.
Trailing 4-2, the Fredericksburg bats went quiet in the middle innings against Prizina. The Shorebirds added some insurance with a solo homer from Trevor Kehe in the eighth and a two-run shot from Cristopher Cespedes in the ninth, allowing Adam Stauffer (S, 1) to secure the six-out save.
The FredNats continue their series against the Shorebirds on Friday as RHP Rodney Theophile faces off against Delmarva’s RHP Noah Denoyer. First pitch from FredNats Ballpark is scheduled for 7:05, with FredNats On Deck beginning at 6:50 on the FredNats Baseball Network. A video broadcast of every home game is available with a subscription to MiLB.tv.
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Chris Graham
