Kevin Strohschein hit a pair of homers, including the first inside-the-park homer in team history, but the Fredericksburg Nationals came up short on Friday night in a 6-3 loss to the Delmarva Shorebirds.
Delmarva led from the first inning on, as Karlo Seijas (L, 1-6) allowed a three-run homer to TT Bowens. The righty fell to 0-5 in the month of June, but rebounded after his rocky start to deliver 5.0 solid innings.
Strohschein hit his first homer of the season in the top of the second against Shane Davis, a two-run blast over the left field wall. The Shorebirds answered in the bottom of the inning with three unearned runs, as a J.T. Arruda throwing error opened the door for a bases-loaded walk and two-run single from Yorkislandy Alvarez.
Strohschein’s second homer was far from conventional. With two outs in the fourth, the first baseman lifted a deep drive to the warning track in right field. Cristopher Cespedes came up short in his attempt at a running catch, and flipped over the side wall out of play as the ball settled in front of the wall. Strohschein tripped around third but made it home for the team’s first inside-the-park homer.
The 6-3 score at the end of four innings would hold for the remainder of the game. Aaron Barrett pitched a scoreless inning in his third rehab outing and Gilberto Chu retired all six men he faced for the FredNats, but Ryan Watson (W, 3-1) worked the final 5.0 innings without allowing a run to earn the win for the Shorebirds.
The FredNats collected three hits in the ninth to put up a late rally, but Watson closed the door by retiring the final three batters in order. The two-hour, twenty-three minute game was the fastest nine-inning game for the FredNats this season.
The FredNats continue their series against the Shorebirds on Saturday night. First pitch from Perdue Stadium is scheduled for 7:05, with FredNats On Deck beginning at 6:50 on the FredNats Baseball Network.
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Chris Graham
