Vaquero's Perfect Throw Ties Down 7-6 FredNat Win
May 29, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Fredericksburg Nationals News Release
LYNCHBURG, VA - Riding a Carolina League-high five-game losing streak into a Thursday night bout with the Lynchburg Hillcats, the FredNats were in dire need of a win. For a fleeting moment as the ninth inning hit, the final three outs seemed like just a formality for a dominant FredNat bullpen to secure a 7-6 victory.
That script simply wasn't dramatic enough.
Merrick Baldo took the mound in search of his third save with his sights set on the ninth spot in the Lynchburg lineup, Jeffrey Mercedes, a pinch hitter. Mercedes, with a mind of his own, slapped a single the other way to reach as the game's tying run. The Hillcats ran Garrett Howe at first base with the top of the order, Tommy Hawke and Welbyn Francisca, coming up. Both of them roped singles off of Baldo as well, loading the bases with nobody out.
Pitching Coach Justin Lord visited the mound, trying to calm down his closer and inspire a Houdini act, asking Baldo for a seemingly impossible feat. The message got through, with Baldo getting the strikeout he was pitching for against Luis Merejo for the first out. Damage: Danced around for the moment.
Then, Bennett Thompson, who had flied out to center field in consecutive at-bats, walked up and did the same thing again. He lifted one to medium-depth, bringing Cristhian Vaquero in and sending Howe back to third, revving his engine up for home plate.
Ball hit mitt and Howe put the pedal to the metal. Vaquero's throw stopped time in its tracks as it soared toward Kevin Bazzell, reaching the FredNat catcher on the fly. Bazzell dropped his left knee, swiveled to see Howe sliding feet first towards the back corner of home and whipped his glove around to catch the runner on the shoulder a split second before his hand slapped the plate. The verdict: a bang-bang play that went the FredNats' way to clinch a back-and-forth 7-6 battle.
With Vaquero's throw and Baldo's heroics to wiggle free in the ninth, the first eight and a half innings faded out of top-of-mind memory, but weren't the only keys to the night.
Baldo's scoreless inning marked the seventh thrown by the FredNat bullpen, which allowed just one run after starter Angel Roman allowed the first five in his two innings of work. Baldo, Merritt Beeker, Johan Otanez, Gavin Bruni and Robert Cranz put the Hillcats in a box all night long to keep Fredericksburg in play for a win.
At the plate, a four-run first inning outburst and home runs from Nate Rombach and Roismar Quintana, each their first of the year, powered the win. The tying and winning runs, however, each scored on sacrifice flies. Vaquero and Luke Dickerson each drove in runs with flyouts in the sixth inning to score Bazzell and Randal Diaz.
When the dust settled, Vaquero's dart earned the win for Otanez (2-0) and the save for Baldo (3), handing Rafe Schlesinger (1-4) the loss in long relief. With the series now at 2-1 Lynchburg, the FredNats send Davian Garcia to the hill Friday in a 6:30 start.
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