Great Pitching Leads FredNats to Series Win Over Salem

Fredericksburg, VA- The Fredericksburg Nationals' pitching staff dominated, throwing their second shutout of the week, and 8th of the season in a 3-0 win over the Salem Ridgeyaks to take the series 4-2.

MLB rehabber Max Kranick got the start for the FredNats, setting an early tone, putting the RidgeYaks down 1-2-3 in the 1st, before retiring the first two batters in the second before hitting his pitch limit. Another former big leaguer, Alex Young, finished the 2nd, before seeing just four batters in a scoreless third. Leuris Portorreal was next out of the bullpen and continued the strong pitching, throwing two scoreless innings.

With the MLB pedigree on the mound, Gavin Fien got the party started early on the offensive end. In the bottom of the 1st, on just the second pitch of the at-bat, Fien hit a home run 370 feet into left field to put the FredNats on the board first. In the 3rd, Jordan Williams walked to lead off the inning. He then stole second, advanced to third on a single, then scored, stealing home, on a throw from the catcher back to the pitcher that hit off the batter and ricocheted away, allowing Williams to score. That put the FredNats up 2-0.

In the top of the 7th, Gavin Fien led off the inning, and hit another ball over the fence. It’s the first multi-home run game of the 12th overall pick in last year’s draft career. It put the FredNats up 3-0.

With the win, the FredNats move to 10-1-1 in series this season. After tomorrow’s off day, Fredericksburg hosts the Wilson Warbirds for the first time ever. First pitch in the series opener is at 6:35 PM on Tuesday.