Freddies Sweep Mudcats, Punch Ticket to Championship
September 12, 2024 - Carolina League (CarL)
Fredericksburg Nationals News Release
ZEBULON, NC - The FredNats punched their ticket to the Carolina League Championship Series with a 5-2 win over the Carolina Mudcats. FXBG awaits the winner of the Kannapolis-Charleston series.
Seaver King staked the Nats to an early lead, with his RBI groundout in the top of the first inning to drive home Brenner Cox.
Armed with a one-run lead before he took the field, Travis Sykora was electric. The big righty fired five scoreless innings to protect that 1-0 edge, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out nine Mudcats. Sykora sent down the final 12 men he faced, and exited with the Nats up a run after five innings.
As playoff games go, Carolina did not roll over. They tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning against Bubba Hall, on an RBI grounder from Juan Baez, then Marco Dinges put the Mudcats up 2-1 with an RBI double down the left field line.
Elijah Green wasted no time in his at-bat to begin the seventh, hammering a first-pitch, no-doubt homer to left, bringing the Nats level at 2-2.
Alexander Meckley was tremendous out of the FredNat bullpen, facing the minimum over the seventh and eighth innings to keep the game tied.
In the top of the ninth, Green got hit by a pitch then stole second base, before Seaver King and Caleb Lomavita each walked to load the bases with no outs. Carolina went to the bullpen for a fresh arm, but Jack Seppings fired his first pitch to the backstop, and Elijah Green dashed home to break the tie. Kevin Bazzell kept the line moving with an RBI single to make it 4-2 Nats, then Brandon Pimentel tacked on another run with a sac fly to deep center field, as the Nats handed Anthony Arguelles a 5-2 lead for the bottom of the ninth.
Carolina rallied and managed to load the bases with two outs, but Arguelles induced a tapper right back to him, and he took it to the bag himself to secure a 5-2 Nationals victory. Meckley (1-0) got the win on his line, Jeison Pena (0-1) took the loss, and Arguelles earned his first postseason save. This was the first playoff series win for the Nats since moving to FXBG.
Fredericksburg will play for the Carolina League Championship beginning on Sunday, September 15th against the winner of the Charleston-Kannapolis series.
• Discuss this story on the Carolina League message board...
Carolina League Stories from September 12, 2024
- Kannapolis Falls in Game Two Contest with RiverDogs; Game Three Set for Friday Night - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Freddies Sweep Mudcats, Punch Ticket to Championship - Fredericksburg Nationals
- RiverDogs Force Game 3 with Comeback Win Thursday Night - Charleston RiverDogs
- Nationals Beat Mudcats to Advance to Championship Series - Carolina Mudcats
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent Fredericksburg Nationals Stories
- UVA and Maryland Baseball to Clash in FXBG
- FredNats Announce 2025 Home Game Times
- Taylor and Krick Earn MiLB Awards
- Sykora Named First Team All-MiLB Prospect
- FredNats Win Carolina League Championship