Shorebirds Homer Three Times but Fall to Fred Nats
Walks Get the Best of Delmarva Again in Defeat
FREDERICKSBURG, VA: The Delmarva Shorebirds (36-67, 13-24) were defeated by the Fredericksburg Nationals (63-39, 17-19) on Tuesday, 10-8.
Jordan Sanchez (7) got the Shorebirds on the board quickly in the top of the first with a three-run homer to make it 3-0.
That lead was short-lived, however, as the Fred Nats scored six runs in the bottom of the first on just two hits, capitalizing on six walks. Two of those walks came with the bases loaded, and Dashyll Tejeda and Luke Dickerson each had two-run base hits, putting Fredericksburg ahead 6-3 after an inning.
The Shorebirds used the home run ball again in the fourth to get back in the game, with Andrew Tess (1) hitting a two-run homer for his first Single-A long ball, pulling Delmarva within one at 6-5.
Coy James (16) had the answer for the Fred Nats in the next half-innings, launching a two-run homer of his own to make it an 8-5 game.
Fredericksburg took its largest lead at 9-5 in the sixth inning after an RBI double by Coy James.
Delmarva got that run back on a solo home run by Stiven Martinez (9), cutting the deficit back to three at 9-6.
An inning later, the Shorebirds got within two as Jaiden Lo Re scored on a passed ball to make it 9-7.
The Fred Nats got the lead back to three in the next half on an RBI single by Manuel Cabrera to put them in front 10-7.
In the eighth, a throwing error on a double-steal attempt allowed Stiven Martinez to score, once again getting the Shorebirds within two at 10-8.
However, that's as close as Delmarva could get, as walks haunted them again, giving up 11 free passes, eight of which scored, in a 10-8 loss to the Fred Nats.
Noah Millikan (1-1) earned the win as the starter for Fredericksburg, with Esteban Mejia (0-7) taking the loss for Delmarva. L.J. Waco (2) was awarded the save.
The Shorebirds look to even the series on Wednesday, with Andrew Herbert taking the mound against Landon Harmon for the Nationals. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM.