Nats Sweep Away 'Birds on Opening Weekend

FREDERICKSBURG, VA - The FredNats attacked the Delmarva bullpen once again, as a six-run eighth inning proved to be the difference in a 10-4 Nats win.

After a quick top of the first inning, Fredericksburg got the bats rolling right away. Phillip Glasser hammered the first pitch of the inning down the left field line for a double, then John McHenry doubled the other way into right field to plate Glasser and give the Freddies an early 1-0 lead. Then with two outs, McHenry stole third, and a poor throw allowed John to pop up and scamper home to make it 2-0.

Delmarva got a run back in the top of the second inning, on an RBI fielder’s choice. Then in their half of the fourth, Thomas Sosa led off with a double. Aneudis Mordán followed with a two-bagger of his own to plate Sosa, and cut the Nats’ lead to 2-1. Aron Estrada then laced a third straight double to drive Mordán and Sosa in, putting Delmarva ahead 3-2.

After a scoreless fifth, Mikey Tepper relieved Travis Sthele to begin the top of the sixth inning. Tepper walked Thomas Sosa, then a wild pitch allowed him to take second base. Aneudis Mordán walked as well, and Sosa alertly moved to third base on another wild pitch. Aron Estrada then capitalized for the ‘Birds, with another RBI fielder’s choice to make it a 4-2 Delmarva lead.

But once again, Delmarva’s bullpen could not hold on to the lead. Tyler Baca drew a leadoff walk, then Glasser roped another double into left field, with Baca moving to third base. John McHenry then lifted a sacrifice fly into fairly shallow center field, but it was deep enough for Baca to score on the play, with Glasser advancing to third base. With the tying run 90 feet away, Cristhian Vaquero beat out an infield single, as Glasser scored to level the score at 4-4.

That score held until the bottom of the eighth, which began with Tyler Baca getting hit by a pitch. Phillip Glasser followed by beating out another slow roller, then John McHenry singled to load the bases. That brought up Vaquero in another key spot, and he came through with a two-run single which put Fredericksburg up 6-4. After a Shorebird pitching change, Elijah Green welcomed Jiorgeny Casimiri to the ballgame with a two-run double off the right field wall, making it an 8-4 lead. Later, with two outs and two men aboard, Brenner Cox picked up a bases-clearing triple to extend the advantage to 10-4.

That was plenty of breathing room for Samuel Vasquez in the ninth inning, as he closed the book on an Opening Weekend sweep for the FredNats. He earned his first win as a National, while Michael Forret was saddled with the loss.

Fredericksburg hits the road for the first time in 2024 on Tuesday 4/9, to begin a six game series with the Lynchburg Hillcats.