LYNCHBURG, VA - Whatever magic the Fredericksburg Nationals had when they were home for the past two weeks has not been the case so far in Lynchburg as the Hillcats took their third game of four to begin this week’s series following a 7-0 shutout loss on Thursday.
Fredericksburg (59-60, 29-25) managed just one hit in the loss, an Eli Willits single, after being no-hit going into the seventh inning.
Willits extended his hitting streak to seven games since being called up from the Florida Complex League last week.
The FredNats drew seven walks offensively, including two issued to Kevin Bazzell and two to Nick Peoples, but were held scoreless all night.
Starting pitcher Liam Sullivan struggled across four innings of work, allowing six hits, three runs and a walk, striking out four. A bright spot on the mound for Fredericksburg in the loss was Bryant Olson, who tossed two hitless innings of relief, walking three.
Lynchburg scored all seven of its runs between the third and fifth innings, headlined by a Nolan Schubart two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning.
Fredericksburg and Lynchburg continue their series on Friday night, set for a 6:30 p.m. start.