FredNats rally from late 3-0 deficit, walk off Down East, 4-3

Jonathon Thomas delivered a walk-off single to propel the FredNats over the Down East Wood Ducks, 4-3, in a series opener on Tuesday.

It was Down East scoring first in the game, in the top of the second inning. With runners on the corners and two outs, Down East sent JoJo Blackmon in motion from first base. He was able to get in a rundown for long enough to let Gleider Figuereo score from third, giving the Wood Ducks a 1-0 edge.

Jake Bennett, the #9 prospect in the Washington Nationals system, held the Woodies to just one run until the fourth, which began with a Yeison Morrobel single, although he was lifted from the game after an apparent injury.

Andres Mesa replaced him, and promptly stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error by Matt Suggs. He then scored on a Miguel Villarroel single to make it 2-0.

Bennett worked two more scoreless frames, ending his night with just one earned run and eight punchouts, compared to just one free pass.

Down East did add another run on an E4, to make it 3-0 going to the bottom of the eighth inning.

On the first pitch of the frame, Brenner Cox, the Nats’ 23rd-ranked prospect, drilled a home run out to right-center field which cut the deficit to 3-1.

The inning rolled on with Armando Cruz, the #14 Nats prospect, working a walk, and Brady House, the #5 prospect, singling to put runners on the corners. A balk then pushed Cruz across, and Fredericksburg trailed just 3-2.

Tyler Yankosky worked around a one-out triple to keep the score at 3-2. Zion Pettigrew, who replaced Sammy Infante after he was hit by a pitch, began the bottom of the ninth with an infield single. Branden Boissiere walked behind Petttigrew, and Matt Suggs laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to push both runners up 90 feet.

Down East elected to intentionally walk Brenner Cox, the #23 prospect, to load the bases, bringing up Johnathon “Tuda” Thomas.

On an 0-1 pitch, Tuda flared a ball into shallow left field that found the turf, with both Pettigrew and pinch-runner Murphy Stehly dashing home to give the Nationals a 4-3 walk-off win.

In Game 2, Jarlin Susana, the sixth-ranked prospect in the Nats’ system, returns to the bump for Fredericksburg, against Leandro Lopez for the Wood Ducks. First pitch is at 7:05.