WILSON, N.C. - The Wilson Warbirds' three-game winning streak came to a close on Thursday night as the Fredericksburg Nationals downed the Warbirds 7-3 in ten innings at Wilson Ballpark.
Wilson (51-46, 15-16 second half) struck first for the first time in the series, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Rylan Mills doubled with one out in the inning and came around to score on a Frederi Montero single to open up the scoring.
After surrendering two runs in the top of the sixth, the Warbirds tied the game at two in the bottom half of the frame. Brady Ebel led off the inning with a triple into the right field corner. After a pitching change, Juan Ortuño launched a sacrifice fly to right field to knot the game at two.
Fredericksburg (61-38, 15-18 second half) grabbed the lead once again as Coy James drove in Luke Dickerson to hand the Nationals a 3-2 lead.
The Warbirds showed resilience once more, as a Brailyn Antunez single in the bottom of the ninth plated the tying run and sent the game to extra innings.
In the tenth, Enderson Mercado (L, 4-7) allowed four runs, seeing Fredericksburg ahead 7-3, a lead Wilson could never cut into.
Sam Brodersen (W, 1-0) earned the win for the Nationals.
Wilson and Fredericksburg play tomorrow on Salute to Heroes Night at 7:05 p.m. The Warbirds will trot out the reliable Jarrette Bonet (6-5, 4.99) against Marlon De La Cruz (0-3, 5.72). Tickets for the game are available at WilsonWarbirds.com or by calling (919) 269-2287.