Comeback Effort Comes up Short, FredNats Fall 7-6 to Salem in 2nd Half Opener

Fredericksburg, VA- The Fredericksburg Nationals comeback effort came up just short in a 7-6 loss to open up the second half. The FredNats entered the 9th inning trailing 7-1, but scored four in the 8th, and one in the 9th, before stranding the bases loaded for the third time in the game.

It was a slow start to the game, as Fredericksburg didn’t score any runs in the first third of the game. The FredNats finally got on the board thanks to a Rafi Ramirez RBI double in the 4th. That was all until the 8th, when Christian Fagnant hit his first career home run, a two-run shot to spark the rally. Two more runs scored in the inning to cut the lead down to two.

Entering the 9th, down by just two, Salem RHP Adam Bates walked four in a row, to make it 7-6 and bring the tying run to third, and the winning runner into scoring position. The FredNats could capitalize, though with the heart of the order up. Coy James struckout looking, and Dashyll Tejeda grounded out to first for Bates to escape with the save.

On the pitching side, Carson Fischer got back into the swing of things after a couple of rough outings, allowing just one earned run in four innings. Alex Young threw a 1-2-3 inning, and Kevin Davis threw 1.2 scoreless near the end ti try and keep Fredericksburg in it.

With the loss, the FredNats drop the opener of the first half, and their second game in a row. They’ll look to get back into the win column tomorrow with RHP Grant Manning starting against RHP Christian Fouch. First pitch at Virginia Credit Union Stadium is set for 6:35 PM.