The Hillcats, the Low-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, grabbed a lead in the top of the first, with a two-out rally. CJ Kayfus walked, then stole second base. Liam Sullivan went on to walk the next three Lynchburg hitters, to force in a run.
Yet the Nats, the Low-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, responded in their half of the inning. John McHenry worked a walk and swiped second base, before Elijah Green brought him in with a single back up the middle to tie the game at 1-1.
Then in the third, Fredericksburg jumped in front. Green laced a two-out double off the wall in left field, and Max Romero Jr. followed with a double himself to put the Nats in front 2-1.
That lead was short-lived. Wuilfredo Antunez opened the top of the fourth inning with a towering home run to right field, which tied the game at 2-2.
Lynchburg kept the bats rolling in the top of the fifth, as Angel Zarate opened the frame with a single. Jose Devers drew a walk later in the inning, and an Antunez single then put the Hillcats ahead 3-2.
Alex Mooney followed with another single to plate Antunez, making it a 4-2 lead for Lynchburg.
CJ Kayfus extended that lead in the sixth inning, when he crushed a two-run homer to make it a 6-2 deficit for the FredNats.
After the seventh inning stretch, the Nats did find a rally. Cristhian Vaquero and Green each walked, prompting a pitching change for Lynchburg. Miguel Vinicio entered, and immediately walked Romero to load the bases.
Roismar Quintana then laced an RBI single to right field, and Marcus Brown added another run with a sac fly to left, but Vinicio limited the damage to just two runs.
With the Hillcats up 6-4, Vinicio and Zane Morehouse retired the Freddies in order in the eighth and ninth innings respectively, to wrap up a 6-4 win for Lynchburg.
Zach Jacobs got win #9 on the year, Morehouse earned his second save, while Pedro Gonzalez fell to 7-3 with the loss.
In Game 4, Mikey Tepper gets the ball for the Nationals, against Abel Brito.
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Chris Graham
