From the FredNats:
Fredericksburg and Fayetteville battled back and forth, but ultimately the Woodpeckers nabbed a 14-7 win. Fayetteville took the early lead in the Saturday evening matchup, in the bottom of the first inning. After a single and a walk to open the inning, Sandro Gaston singled into right field to plate Ryan Clifford with the first run of the game.
In the top of the third, Jonathan Thomas drew a two-out walk to ignite a FredNats rally. Robert Hassell followed him by reaching on an E6, before Armando Cruz singled back up the middle to plate Thomas and tie the game at 1-1. Brady House then kept the line moving with a two-run triple to drive in Hassell and Cruz, giving Fredericksburg a 3-1 edge.
Nats starter Brad Lord held Fayetteville off the board in the bottom of the third, but allowed a run in both the fourth and fifth to let the Woodpeckers tie the game at 3-3. All told, in his first career start, Lord turned in five strong innings with just three runs allowed.
After a scoreless 6th inning, Branden Boissiere opened the top of the 7th by battling to a full count then drawing a walk. With one out now, Sammy Infante swatted his first home run of the season, a two-run blast which put the Freddies up 5-3.
But Fayetteville had a response in their half of the frame. Dauri Lorenzo singled, then Ryan Clifford doubled to drive Lorenzo home. Tyler Whitaker then got hit by a pitch, and Narbe Cruz walked to load the bases. After a pop out, Zach Cole Jr. unloaded on a 1-1 pitch for a grand slam, propelling the Woodpeckers to an 8-5 advantage. Leosdany Molina connected for a solo homer later in the inning, pushing it to 9-5.
Fredericksburg got a pair of runs back in the top of the eighth. Brady House and Elijah Green drew back-to-back walks to open the frame, then Roismar Quintana pushed them both up a base with a fielder’s choice ground out. Then, a wild pitch let House score with Green moving to third, before a Boissiere sacrifice fly drove Green in to make it just a two run deficit.
But as the series has gone, the Woodpeckers immediately had an answer. Cole Jr. burned Fredericksburg once again with a two RBI double to put Fayetteville up 11-7, before Leosdany Molina crushed a three run home run to put the game out of reach at 14-7.
That held up as the final score, as Nic Swanson took the win for Fayetteville with Jose Ulloa getting saddled with the loss. The FredNats will send Pablo Aldonis to the bump for his season debut, against Trey Dombroski for the Woodpeckers in a 1:05 start.
