Fredericksburg Falls Just Short in Opener at Fayetteville
April 11, 2023 - Carolina League (CarL)
Fredericksburg Nationals News Release
FAYETTEVILLE, NC - Elijah Green nearly performed some more heroics for the FredNats in the series opener against Fayetteville, but the Woodpeckers held on for a 3-2 win.
The Woodpeckers got on the board first, against Fredericksburg starter Riley Cornelio. In the bottom of the third, Rolando Espinosa doubled to right field to open up the frame, then Ryan Clifford walked behind him. After a strikeout, Zach Cole smoked a double to right which scored Espinosa, but Brenner Cox unleashed a missile from right field to cut down Clifford at the plate.
Fayetteville added another run in the fourth, when a passed ball allowed Leosdany Molina to scamper home from third.
Woodpecker pitching did an excellent job keeping the FredNats' lineup in check for the majority of the game. Starter Nolan DeVos fanned nine Nationals across his four innings of no-hit ball, before he was relieved by Trey Dombroski. The big left-hander worked a 1-2-3 frame in the fifth, before running into some trouble in the sixth.
He retired the first two hitters he faced, before walking Armando Cruz, then a wild pitch saw Cruz take second base. Daylen Lile then picked up his first professional triple to plate Cruz, which cut the Fayetteville lead to 2-1.
However, the Woodpeckers got that run back in the seventh when Espinosa picked up his second double of the game. This time, he laced it back up the middle and into center field to plate Dauri Lorenzo.
Domboski held Fredericksburg to just the lone run until the top of the ninth. After striking out Lile, he went ahead 0-2 on Brady House, but House showcased his opposite field power with a line drive home run to right field, trimming the deficit to just 3-2. Ian Foggo entered for Dombroski, to face Elijah Green. After battling to a full count, Green smoked a double into the right-center field gap. Centerfielder Zach Cole Jr. booted the ball, as Green motored through second base and around third looking for the game-tying, inside-the-park home run. However, a textbook relay throw cut down Elijah Green by a step at the plate, and Fayetteville picked up the final out to win 3-2.
Trey Dombroski earned the official win with Foggo securing a save, while Riley Cornelio took the loss. In game two, Mason Denaburg makes his season debut for Fredericksburg against Joey Mancini, first pitch is at 7:05.
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