Peoples' Ninth-Inning Home Run Leads FredNats to 4-2 Win, First Place
CarL Fredericksburg Nationals

Peoples' Ninth-Inning Home Run Leads FredNats to 4-2 Win, First Place

Published on July 9, 2025 under Carolina League (CarL)
Fredericksburg Nationals News Release


ZEBULON, N.C. - Nick Peoples' two-run, ninth-inning home run lifted the Fredericksburg Nationals (11-6, 41-41) to a 4-2 win over the Carolina Mudcats (10-6, 46-34) on Wednesday at Five County Stadium. The win moved the FredNats to .500 for the first time since May 9 and into first place in the Carolina League North's second-half standings.

With their ace, Davian Garcia, on the mound, the FredNat bats got active early against Melvin Hernandez. Fredericksburg got RBI doubles from Jorgelys Mota and Nate Ochoa in the first two innings to grab a 2-0 lead. Garcia stymied Carolina in the first three innings, tallying three strikeouts.

The Mudcats notched their first run in the fourth inning, when Filippo Di Turi lined a single into right field and scored Luis Peña to draw the deficit to 2-1. Garcia settled down from there, though, and got through five innings with just the one run allowed. He surrendered just three hits and had five strikeouts to lower his ERA to 2.70.

Carolina instantly evened the score after his exit, as Gery Holguin singled in a run off of Merritt Beeker to tie things at 2-2 in the sixth inning. That score held all the way until the ninth inning, with the two bullpens trading scoreless frames.

In the ninth, Peoples made his mark. The FredNat slugger stepped up with a runner aboard and walloped a deep drive way over the right field wall, sending it 418 feet for his sixth home run of the season and a 4-2 lead. It was Peoples' second go-ahead ninth-inning homer of the year for the FredNats, after he hit a 115 mph laser to win 1-0 in Fayetteville on June 12.

After Merrick Baldo completed a scoreless ninth inning, his second frame of the night, with 46 pitches on his ledger, the FredNats had the win, a 2-0 series lead and sole possession of first place.

Baldo (5-1) earned the win, as Garrett Hodges (2-2) got the loss. In game three on Thursday, the FredNats will send Yoel Tejeda Jr. to the mound in a 6:30 start.

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Carolina League Stories from July 9, 2025


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