FredNats return home in 5-3 loss

After a two-week road trip, the Fredericksburg Nationals began their final home series of the season with a 5-3 loss to the Lynchburg Hillcats on Tuesday night.

Hitless through five innings and scoreless through six, the FredNats scored three runs late but couldn’t complete the comeback in their third straight loss.

Starter Rodney Theophile (L, 3-11) allowed two runs in the second inning on a Miguel Jerez RBI single and a Yordys Valdes sacrifice fly, but it was the two-run homer hit by Gabriel Rodriguez in the third inning that proved to be the difference for the Hillcats. Theophile completed 5.0 innings and struck out six, one shy of tying a career high.

The FredNats couldn’t solve Lynchburg starter Aaron Davenport, who pitched hitless baseball for three innings. Nor could they cash in against Randy Labaut (W, 3-2), who allowed only a gift double to Jake Randa in the sixth inning over three more scoreless frames.

In the seventh, José Sánchez broke the shutout bid with an RBI double and Steven Williams followed with an RBI single. Darren Baker hit an RBI single in the eighth to draw the FredNats to within a run at 4-3, but the Hillcats added some insurance in the ninth on a Korey Holland RBI single that gave Serafino Brito (S, 1) a two-run lead to convert his first save.

The FredNats continue their series with the Hillcats on Wednesday. First pitch from FredNats Ballpark is scheduled for 7:05, with FredNats On Deck beginning at 6:50 on the FredNats Baseball Network.