FredNats Fall Short Late in 6-5 Loss to Fayetteville
July 22, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Fredericksburg Nationals News Release
FREDERICKSBURG, VA - The Fredericksburg Nationals (14-9, 44-44) could not complete their late comeback effort in a 6-5 loss against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (11-13, 47-43) on Tuesday night at Virginia Credit Union Stadium.
In the series' opening inning, the Woodpeckers walked into a roaring start against Bryan Polanco. Esmil Valencia reached first base for free as the leadoff hitter, promptly stole second and advanced on a missed-catch error by Everett Cooper III. When Waner Luciano hit a slow rolling groundout, Valencia sprinted in to score and give Fayetteville a 1-0 lead in an instant.
The Woodpeckers ended up scoring in each of the first three innings off of Polanco, with a solo home run from Kedaur Trujillo in the second and two unearned runs in the third on a two-RBI single by Cam Fisher. When Polanco exited after four innings, Fayetteville led 4-0.
The FredNats finally got to Fayetteville's starter, Joan Ogando, in the fifth inning, as Cooper smashed an RBI triple off of the wall in center field and scored another run himself on Cristhian Vaquero's sacrifice fly. After five, the game was 4-2.
The Woodpeckers notched two runs against the FredNat bullpen, including a ninth-inning home run from Jancel Villarroel, taking a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth. That's when the FredNats sparked a glimmer of hope. Two reached against Twine Palmer ahead of Cooper, forcing Fayetteville to go back to its bullpen for right-hander Cam Brown. On Brown's first pitch, Cooper lasered his first professional home run down the right field line and cleared the high wall at 370 feet. His three-run blast made it a one-run game in the blink of an eye.
Brown reeled it in, however, and got Cristhian Vaquero to line out to right field, ending the night and Fredericksburg's hopes. In the 6-5 victory, Palmer (2-0) got the win, as Polanco (5-7) got the loss and Brown (4) earned a one-out save. After Fayetteville took game one of the series, the FredNats will hand the ball to Brayan Romero on Wednesday, looking to even it up at a game apiece.
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