Eli Willis Debuts with Three Hits, FredNats Beat Fayetteville 10-6
CarL Fredericksburg Nationals

Eli Willis Debuts with Three Hits, FredNats Beat Fayetteville 10-6

Published on August 22, 2025 under Carolina League (CarL)
Fredericksburg Nationals News Release


FREDERICKSBURG, VA - In his first professional game, shortstop Eli Willits led the Fredericksburg Nationals (27-20, 57-55) to a 10-6 win over the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (25-24, 61-54). The first overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft began his career with a three-hit game and two RBI, helping the FredNats set a new season high with 16 hits.

After going scoreless in the first against Javier Perez, the FredNats got an RBI single from Brenner Cox to take a 1-0 lead and bring up Willits for his first professional plate appearance. When he took the field for the first time Thursday, Willits became the youngest player to ever suit up for the FredNats at just 17 years old. In his first at-bat, Willits hit a bounding ball to second base, but beat out a double play and earned his first career RBI, as Kevin Bazzell scored. A few pitches later, Willits stole his first career base.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Willits stepped up with two outs and nobody on and smacked a base hit through the left side of Fayetteville's shifted infield. Aggressively running the bases, Willits was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single into a double, but he notched his first career knock.

After three unanswered runs against Brayan Romero, the Woodpeckers carried a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning, but the FredNats fired right back. Elijah Green extended his hit streak to 11 games, tying a FredNats season high and driving in Randal Diaz with a single. One batter later, Ethan Petry roped a single into center field to plate Green and give the FredNats a 4-3 lead.

That distance grew even further in the sixth, when the FredNats scored six more times on six hits. Bazzell and Cox reached in front of Willits, who lifted a line drive into right field, dropping it in for his second hit and RBI of the night. After Angel Feliz joined in on the action with a double, Petry smashed another RBI single. Feliz's hit ensured that all nine starters in the Fredericksburg lineup had at least one hit. When all was said and done, the FredNats had a 10-3 advantage.

Then, with Willits getting one last chance to hit with two outs in the eighth inning, he blasted a skipping line drive down the first base line that was snagged at first by Zach Daudet instead of screaming into the corner. Willits put his head down, though, and sprinted to first to beat out an infield single for his third hit of the night. Willits finished his debut 3/4 with a walk, a stolen base and two RBI. Petry, Washington's second-round pick, joined Willits with a three-hit game of his own and also had two RBI.

Romero (2-4) got the win with six innings of three-run ball, as Perez (1-1) got the loss. The victory tied the FredNats for first place in the Carolina League North's second-half standings with just over two weeks to play. They'll go for the series win over Fayetteville on Friday, with Liam Sullivan on the mound in a 7:05 start.

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Carolina League Stories from August 22, 2025


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