FredNats suffer first extra-inning loss in Lynchburg

The Fredericksburg Nationals were an out away from improving to a perfect 5-0 record in extra-inning games, but were walked off by the Lynchburg Hillcats on Wednesday night in a 7-6, 10-inning final.

Angel Martinez hit a game-tying RBI single for the Hillcats with two outs in the 10th, and scored from first on a walk-off double from Cody Farhat to send the FredNats to their eighth loss in as many games this season in Lynchburg.

The FredNats held three different leads, beginning with a 1-0 edge in the second after Jeremy De La Rosa’s RBI single. De La Rosa later added two more singles for his first three-hit game of the season.

The 1-0 lead held into the middle innings, thanks to a dominant eight-strikeout start for Michael Cuevas. The Hillcats finally broke through after an error and a hit batsman in the fifth, as Wilfri Peralta blasted a go-ahead three run homer to right-center field. Peralta’s first homer of the season put Lynchburg ahead 3-1.

Alexfri Planez doubled home an insurance run off Bryan Peña in the sixth, extending the Hillcats lead to 4-1. The FredNats put up two runs in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk to Geraldi Diaz and a Viandel Peña RBI single, but missed out on a chance for more when an infield fly off the bat of Paul Witt led to confusion on the bases and a poorly-timed double play.

In the eighth, the FredNats mounted a two-out rally as Junior Martina singled and Kevin Strohschein followed with a go-ahead two-run homer. The lead wouldn’t last long, as Petey Halpin led off the Hillcats eighth with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly from Johnathan Rodriguez.

Davis Moore (L, 3-1) pitched a perfect ninth to send the game to extras, where the FredNats hadn’t lost all season. Ricardo Méndez, who extended his team-record hitting streak to 12 games with a sixth-inning single, led off the 10th with an RBI triple past a stumbling Farhat in right field. The momentum shifted, however, when Alec Wisely (W, 1-0) fielded a comebacker and caught Méndez in a rundown to limit the FredNats to one run in the inning.

Moore got the first two outs in the bottom of the 10th, but with the automatic baserunner at third base allowed Martinez’s RBI single to tie the game. Farhat followed with a line drive double into the left field corner, scoring Martinez and giving the Hillcats a 7-6 win.

The FredNats continue their series against the Hillcats on Thursday night. First pitch from Bank of the James Stadium is scheduled for 6:30, with FredNats On Deck beginning at 6:15 on the FredNats Baseball Network.