Jake Randa’s RBI triple in the eighth inning helped the Fredericksburg Nationals secure a 2-1 win over the Delmarva Shorebirds on Saturday night.
The FredNats were stymied through seven innings against a Shorebirds pitching staff led by Griffin McLarty and Jonathan Pendergast, but a two-run eighth set up an opportunity for a series win in Sunday’s finale.
For the second start in a row, Michael Cuevas was brilliant for 6.0 innings. He allowed only two hits, but one was a Cristopher Cespedes solo homer in the second to put the Shorebirds ahead 1-0.
That lead held up for the Shorebirds through the middle innings, but Troy Stainbrook (W, 2-1) made sure the score didn’t change with two scoreless innings of relief for the FredNats. Randa made a leaping catch at the left field wall to rob Wilkin Grullon of extra bases in the top of the eighth, a contentious call that led to the ejection of Delmarva manager Dave Anderson.
Junior Martina coaxed a one-out walk from Nick Roth (L, 0-1) in the bottom of the eighth, and Randa followed with a liner into the left-center gap to tie the game 1-1. With Kevin Strohschein at the plate, Randa scored on a balk from Roth to put Fredericksburg ahead by a run.
Amos Willingham (S, 2) allowed a one-out double in the ninth, but worked a scoreless inning to earn the save.
The FredNats wrap up their series against the Shorebirds on Sunday night. First pitch from FredNats Ballpark is scheduled for 6:05, with FredNats On Deck beginning at 5:50 on the FredNats Baseball Network.
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Chris Graham
