The Fredericksburg Nationals are one win away from capturing the Carolina League championship. The FredNats knocked off the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 6-4 Sunday evening to take a 1-0 lead in the league championship series.
A win at home on Tuesday night will clinch the championship for the FredNats. The first pitch at Virginia Credit Union Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. in what is expected to be an electric atmosphere.
Robert Cranz earned the win on the mound for the FredNats Sunday, pitching a scoreless seventh and eighth inning with two strikeouts. Anthony Arguelles picked up the save, delivering a scoreless ninth. Brayan Romero was the starting pitcher, but was relieved with one out in the fifth after allowing five hits and three earned runs.
Seaver King went 2-for-5 at the plate with 2 RBIs. Brenner Cox scored two runs. Caleb Lomavita and Kevin Bazzell recorded two hits each with an RBI and a run scored.
After the FredNats took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third after Cox scored on a Bazzell sacrifice fly, the Cannon Ballers scored twice in the bottom of the frame to pull within 3-2.
The FredNats scored twice more in the fop of the fifth on King’s two-RBI single that scored Kelvin Diaz and Cox.
The Cannon Ballers added two runs in the bottom of the fifth to again pull within one run, 5-4. The FredNats escaped further damage and then added the final run when Diaz scored on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh.
The leadoff batter for Kannapolis in the bottom of the ninth reached base on a fielding error and advanced to second base on a bunt. But Arguelles recorded three straight outs, including the final groundout to him that he threw to first base for the final out.
If necessary after Tuesday’s game, the FredNats will also host Game 3 on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.
