The Fredericksburg Nationals got another gutsy start from Karlo Seijas, but a seventh-inning rally for the Salem Red Sox made the difference in a 3-2 defeat on a soggy Tuesday night.
Seijas (L, 1-3) allowed only five hits over 6.2 innings, but three of those hits went for extra bases in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs, Stephen Scott hit a game-tying RBI double and Ceddanne Rafaela hit a go-ahead triple that gave the Red Sox the lead for good.
The series opener, delayed by rain for 55 minutes, was a scoreless duel between Seijas and Aldo Ramirez until the third. Rafaela hit a leadoff single, took third on an errant pickoff throw from Seijas, and scored when Cole Daily’s throw from foul territory also went off line. That would be the final hit allowed by the Fredericksburg righty until the seventh, as he turned in his third quality start of the year.
With the FredNats trailing 1-0 in the sixth, Junior Martina drew a leadoff walk from Jordan DiValerio (W, 5-1). Ricardo Méndez blasted a double off the top of the right field wall, and a fielding error from right fielder Gilberto Jimenez on the carom allowed Martina to score from first to tie the game. J.T. Arruda followed with an RBI triple to left-center that put Fredericksburg ahead 2-1.
After the Red Sox rallied against Seijas, Jacinto Arredondo (S, 1) got the final six outs and worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth to earn the save. The FredNats went just 1-for-12 with men in scoring position on the night.
The FredNats continue their series against the Red Sox on Wednesday. First pitch from Haley Toyota Field in Salem is scheduled for 7:05, with FredNats On Deck beginning at 6:50 on the FredNats Baseball Network.
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Chris Graham
