FredNats Score Season-High 15 Runs, Beat Fayetteville with Two Grand Slams in One Inning
CarL Fredericksburg Nationals

FredNats Score Season-High 15 Runs, Beat Fayetteville with Two Grand Slams in One Inning

Published on August 20, 2025 under Carolina League (CarL)
Fredericksburg Nationals News Release


FREDERICKSBURG, VA - Behind grand slams from Cristhian Vaquero and Luke Dickerson in the third inning, the Fredericksburg Nationals (25-19, 55-54) scored a season-high 15 runs to pummel the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (25-23, 61-53) in a 15-4 series-opening win.

After neither team mustered a baserunner in the game's first two innings, Fayetteville jumped on the board first in the top of the third. With two outs, Bryan Polanco allowed a two-RBI double to Caden Powell, who banged one off the top of the right field fence to score Alberto Hernandez and Jason Schiavone.

Down 2-0, the FredNat bats came back up in the bottom of the third against Raimy Rodriguez in hopes of having their pitcher's back. They achieved that goal and then some. The bottom three hitters in the order - Nick Hollifield, Luke Dickerson and Angel Feliz - each reached in succession to start the inning, setting the table for Vaquero. After Vaquero went just 3/27 last week against Salem, he stepped up for the second time against Rodriguez and dropped the bat head on a low breaking ball, backspinning it over the right-center field wall for a grand slam and a 4-2 FredNat lead.

At the time, the grand slam was just the second hit by the FredNats all season, with both coming since the All-Star break ended. However, the Nationals had more in mind. After two quick outs, the FredNats strung together four more baserunners in a row, including an RBI single from Hollifield that made it 5-2. By that time, Abel Mercedes had entered the game out of the bullpen for Fayetteville and had to face Dickerson with the bases loaded.

Coming into the night, Mercedes had not allowed a home run all season across nearly 40 innings. Then, he hung a slider to Dickerson in a 3-2 count that promptly got planted onto the concourse deep past the left field wall for the second grand slam of the inning. With the slam, Dickerson hit his third home run since Friday, August 15, becoming one of just three Carolina League players with three home runs in that span.

After the offensive onslaught, Polanco proceeded to finish five innings on the mound for the first time in five starts. It was a bounce-back outing for Polanco, who allowed three earned runs on four hits.

The FredNats added on more late in the game, as Elijah Green smoked a two-RBI single in the eighth inning and Randal Diaz followed him up with a two-run triple that set the score at 15-4. Entering the night, the FredNats had not scored more than 13 runs in a game all season.

When the dust settled, Polanco (6-8) got the loss and Rodriguez (3-7) got the loss. The FredNats improved to 55-54, moving to over .500 for the first time since the first week of July. The two teams will play a doubleheader Wednesday, as they make up a prior rainout and the FredNats will send newly-acquired right-handed pitcher R.J. Sales to the mound to start the first game at 4:35.

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Carolina League Stories from August 20, 2025


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