In desperate need of a win in the series finale in Myrtle Beach, the FredNats found a way to squeak out a nail-biting 4-3 over the Pelicans in 10 innings.
Jeremy De La Rosa drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning, and then with the tying run on third base in the bottom of the 10th, J.T. Arruda made the play of the year for Fredericksburg, flipping over the wall next to the FredNat bullpen to catch a pop fly and end the game.
The FredNats fell behind 2-0 in the 2nd with Mason Denaburg on the mound. The 2018 first rounder threw away a bunt attempt by Malcom Quintero to score a run. An RBI groundout made it 2-0, but Denaburg avoided the big inning to keep the FredNats in the game.
The FredNats came roaring back to tie the game in the 3rd with five straight hits. Yoander Rivero and De La Rosa doubled, and Jacob Young and Geraldi Diaz drove in runs with singles to tie the game at two.
De La Rosa scored the go-ahead run in the 6th on an RBI groundout by Branden Boissiere. The FredNat arms were humming in the middle innings, setting away 15 Pelicans in a row at one point. Denaburg, Marlon Perez and Marc Davis combined for that stretch.
After the FredNats left the bases loaded in the 8th, Kevin Made tied the game at three with a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th. Neither team scored in the 9th to send the game to extra innings.
With Viandel Pena at second base as the courtesy runner, De La Rosa grounded out to send him in to score after he moved to third on a wild pitch. Then, after pitching a scoreless 9th, Jack Sinclair left the tying run at third base in the 10th thanks to Arruda’s miraculous catch. Sinclair picks up his third save – all in June – and wins his 4th game of the season.
The FredNats keep pace in the Carolina League North with three games left in the first half. Fredericksburg trails the Carolina Mudcats by just two games, and will head to Salem to face the Red Sox for the final three games of the first half. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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Chris Graham
