Salem took an early lead and never looked back, beating the FredNats 4-2.
The Red Sox tagged Jarlin Susana for a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. He allowed a leadoff double to Cutter Coffey, then a single to Allan Castro to put runners on second and third with no outs. A wild pitch allowed Coffey to score, then later in the frame, a sacrifice fly brought Castro in to give the Sox a 2-0 edge.
Then in the top of the third, Cutter Coffey singled and stole second base. He moved to third on a passed ball, before scoring on an Allan Castro single to extend the lead to 3-0. Susana did not allow a run beyond that, working five full innings for his longest outing this season.
Salem added another run in the sixth, against Mason Denaburg. He walked Ahbram Liendo, who stole second base and later moved to third on a wild pitch. Enderso Lira plated Liendo with a sacrifice fly to center, to make it 4-0 Red Sox.
The FredNats battled back in the home half of the sixth, as Christopher De La Cruz worked a leadoff walk and moved to second on a passed ball. Armando Cruz doubled to move De La Cruz to third base, before Sammy Infante singled back up the middle for the first FredNat run of the game.
Fredericksburg added another run in the eighth when Roismar Quintana legged out an infield single to allow De La Cruz to score and make it 4-2, but Salem’s Jonathon Brand logged a four-out save to close the door. Luis Perales earned his third win of the year, while Susana fell to 0-4.
The FredNats will pitch Riley Cornelio Monday in the series finale, against Yordanny Monegro. It is a special 6:05 first pitch, with a 4th of July fireworks show set to follow the game.
