FredNats get strong pitching but lose 3-1 in day game in Fredericksburg

The FredNats were held in check by strong pitching from the Columbia Fireflies in a 3-1 defeat. Fredericksburg did get on the board first on Education Day at FredNats Stadium.  Leadoff man Johnathon Thomas blooped a double into shallow left field, and an E7 allowed the speedy Tuda to advance to third base. Cortland Lawson followed with an RBI groundout to short, as Thomas scored to give the Nats an early 1-0 lead. FredNat ace Jake Bennett was dealing against Columbia early on. He struck out five straight batters at one point, and picked up two more punchouts in the third before running into trouble in the fourth. He allowed a two-out single to Roger Leyton, and then a long two-run home run to David Hollie which gave the Fireflies a 2-1 advantage. That was the final frame for Bennett, who tied a season high with nine strikeouts. The fifth inning went by scoreless, before Dionmy Salon led off the second with a booming double. A ground out allowed Salon to take third base, before he scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-1 Columbia. The Fireflies bullpen shut the door from there on, taking down the FredNats 3-1. Bennett took the hard-luck loss, with Ben Kudrna getting his third win and Ben Sears locking down his first save of 2023. In game three tomorrow evening, Fredericksburg sends Jarlin Susana to the mound against the lefty Frank Mozzicato.