From the FredNats:
The Fayetteville offense stayed hot as they took down the FredNats 12-4 in game three of the series. After a scoreless first inning, Branden Boissiere walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Max Romero Jr. then ripped a single up the middle to put runners on the corners for Murphy Stehly. He flew out to center, but it was hit deep enough for Boissiere to score the first run of the game. However, Romero Jr. was then thrown out trying to advance to second base on the throw home.
The Woodpeckers immediately jumped on Jake Bennett in the second inning, with back to back singles by Zach Cole Jr. and Jackson Loftin. Leosdany Molina then doubled to left field, scoring both runners and giving Fayetteville the lead. Later in the frame, Dauri Lorenzo bounced into an RBI double play to make it 3-1 Woodpeckers.
More trouble came for the FredNats in the bottom of the third. Bennett walked the leadoff man then drilled the next batter, before loading the bases on an E4. He then walked in a run, before inducing an RBI ground out from Leosdany Molina to make it 5-1 Fayetteville. The Woodpeckers then tried to steal home with runners on the corners, but Cortland Lawson fired a strike back home from second base to Romero Jr. to cut down Zach Cole Jr. and keep the deficit at four runs.
After a scoreless top of the fourth, John Garcia led off the home half with a solo home run which made it 6-1 Woodpeckers.
Fredericksburg was able to put some traffic on the bases in the fifth, starting with Murphy Stehly getting hit by a pitch with one out. Cortland Lawson singled behind Stehly, and Johnathon Thomas worked a full-count walk to load the bases. Brenner Cox then reached on an infield single to plate Stehly, making it 6-2. Robert Hassell, playing in a rehab assignment, grounded out back to the pitcher, but Lawson was able to score on the play which cut the Freddies’ deficit to 6-3. A Romero Jr. RBI double in the top of the fifth brought Fredericksburg back within a couple runs, now down just 6-4.
However, Leosdany Molina doubled on the first pitch in the bottom of the sixth, then John Garcia got hit by a pitch to bring up Dauri Lorenzo. He fouled off a pitch, before singling into center field to plate Molina. Later in the inning, Tyler Whitaker dealt the big blow with a three-run home run to make it 10-4 Fayetteville.
The Woodpeckers tacked on two more runs in the eighth en route to a 12-4 victory. Jake Bennett suffered the loss, with Michael Knorr earning his first win of the year. Jarlin Susanna gets the nod for the Freddies in game four, against Jose Fleury for the Woodpeckers. First pitch is at 7:05.
