The Delmarva Shorebirds lost 9-5 to the Fredericksburg Nationals on Saturday night in Fredericksburg, Virginia, after Fredericksburg hit four home runs. Delmarva entered the game with a 37-70 overall record and a 14-27 mark, while Fredericksburg began at 66-40 overall and 20-20.
Fredericksburg Takes Early Control
Fredericksburg scored twice in the second inning on run-scoring hits by Jordan Williams and Manuel Cabrera. Christhian Vaquero followed with a solo home run in the third inning, his second of the season, to give the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
Hunter Hines hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, his eighth of the season, putting Delmarva behind 5-0. Jordan Williams added his eighth home run of the season in the sixth inning, a two-run shot that extended Fredericksburg’s advantage to 7-0.
Shorebirds Rally Falls Short
Delmarva scored twice in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to 7-2. DJ Layton drove in a run with a groundout, and Stiven Martinez followed with a run-scoring single.
Fredericksburg answered with its fourth home run of the game later in the inning. Rafael Ramirez Jr. hit a two-run home run with two outs, restoring the Nationals’ seven-run lead at 9-2.
Elvin Garcia hit Delmarva’s first home run of the game in the eighth inning, his third of the season. Stiven Martinez drove in two runs with a single in the ninth, but the Shorebirds could not complete the comeback.
Pitching Decisions and Sunday Schedule
Luke Johnson earned the win in relief for Fredericksburg and improved to 6-2. Delmarva starting pitcher Harrison Kreiling took the loss and fell to 0-1 in his organizational debut.
The series concludes Sunday afternoon. Esteban Mejia is scheduled to pitch for Delmarva against RJ Sales of Fredericksburg, with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 p.m.
Maryland Sports Blog Take
Fredericksburg’s four home runs created too large a deficit for Delmarva to overcome. The Shorebirds scored in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but their late rally was not enough to erase the Nationals’ 9-2 lead.
Source: Original report
