The Fredericksburg Nationals were winning 3-2 heading to the top of the 8th inning tonight in Kannapolis. Then, they sent 12 men in a row to the plate without recording an out, and before you could blink, it was a 13-2 win for Fredericksburg to break a two-game losing streak. Jeremy De La Rosa had three hits and three RBIs, Leandro Emiliani hit a grand slam, and FredNats pitching didn't allow a single hit after the 4th inning in the Fredericksburg Nationals' third double-digit victory of the season.
For the 8th game in a row, the Fredericksburg Nationals fell behind. Kannapolis scored the first two runs of the game against Fredericksburg Nationals starter Andrew Alvarez in the 2nd on an RBI double and a sacrifice fly.De La Rosa tied the game in the 3rd with a two-run single with two outs to score Yoander Rivero and Jacob Young. The rally started after Rivero earned a hard-fought walk with two outs and the bases empty.
Rivero then drove in the go-ahead run in the 7th when he drew a bases-loaded walk. The Fredericksburg Nationals wouldn't look back after that.
The first three men in the 8th reached, and then Emiliani blasted his third homer of the year to right field for the first grand slam of the season for the FredNats. Another bases-loaded walk for Rivero made the score 8-2. De La Rosa then drove in his third run of the game with a sharp ground ball single to make it 9-2. Brady House got two more RBIs on his ledger with a sharply hit two-run single to make it 11-2. The inning ended with the FredNats scoring 10 runs, racking up seven hits, and walking five times.
Alvarez pitched five innings and got a no-decision, giving up five hits and two runs. He struck out four men and only walked one. Tyler Schoff got the win, pitching two scoreless innings of relief and only allowing one baserunner. Jose Ferrer and Cody Greenhill each pitched perfect innings of relief to close it out for the Fredericksburg Nationals. The two teams will be back at it tomorrow for game three of the six-game series starting at 7 p.m. in Kannapolis.
The Fredericksburg Nationals return home for a six-game homestand vs. the Charleston Riverdogs starting April 26 at 7:05 pm ET.