FredNats Score Five in the 9th, Jack Moroknek Earns The Save in 11-9 Win Over Shorebirds

Salisbury, MD - In one of the wildest games of the year, the Fredericksburg Nationals picked up their second win in a row, beating the Delmarva Shorebirds 11-9 in a nailbiter. Outfielder Jack Moroknek picked up his first career save, as the FredNats ran out of pitching in the end.

This game was a crazy one from the start, as in the 2nd inning, both teams allowed four unearned runs, following two errors per side. Eli Willits and Braylon Whitaker, each team's leadoff hitters, both had two RBI singles in the 2nd inning.

After a couple of scoreless frames, the offense picked up in the 5th, as Coy James hit his team-leading 7th home run to put the FredNats on top 5-4. That lead didn’t last long, though, as in the bottom of the 5th, Stiven Martinez and Miguel Rodriguez both picked up RBI singles to make it 6-5 Delmarva.

Both offenses quieted down again for a couple of innings, until the FredNats evened the game in the top of the 8th on a Jordan Williams RBI single that brought Nick Peoples across the plate. In the top of the 9th, the FredNats had their best offensive output of the day, highlighted by a Jamison Jones three-run home run. Eli Willits also had an RBI double in that inning. Willits finished today with three hits and three RBIs. The FredNats led 11-6 going into the bottom of the 9th.

With Jared Beck on the mound, things started to get interesting. Stiven Martinez hit a two-run home run to kick off the 9th, then after two walks and a hit batter, Beck's day was done, and position player Jack Moroknek came in to pitch. The outfielder walked the first man he saw, then struck out Juan Ortega and forced a groundout to give the FredNats the 11-9 win.

The FredNats are now just one win away from tying their first-half wins record. They’ll look to do it tomorrow with RHP Leuris Portorreal getting the start against LHP Stephen Still. First pitch from Perdue Stadium is at 7:05 PM.