By: RiverDogs Media
Fredericksburg, VA- The Charleston RiverDogs scored an unearned run in the first inning but added nothing over the final eight frames in a 6-1 loss to the Fredericksburg Nationals on Thursday night at Virginia Credit Union Stadium. Five of the six runs scored by the RiverDogs in the first three games of the series have been unearned.
The RiverDogs (21-33) were the first team to reach the board for the third game in a row. Xavier Isaac punched a single through the left side with one out to start the attack.
Shortstop Armando Cruz committed an error on Dominic Keegan's bouncer near the second base bag to put two on base. Starting pitcher Bryan Caceres nearly got out of the jam with a groundball toward third from Cooper Kinney. Brady House fielded the ball and stepped on the bag for the second out, but then sailed a throw to first wide of Branden Boissiere for an error. Keegan scored from first on the play to put Charleston ahead 1-0.
It didn't take long for Fredericksburg (26-26) to answer back against Jonny Cuevas. The RiverDogs starter walked the first two batters in the bottom half of the inning. House bounced into a double play, but Murphy Stehly beat out an infield single to even the score.
The second inning was when things unraveled for Cuevas. The right-hander allowed two of the first three batters in the frame to reach with a free pass. With one out, Wilmer Perez slammed a double off the base of the left field wall to put Fredericksburg on top 2-1. Runners remained on second and third, but a groundball right at Kinney by Christopher De La Cruz resulted in an out at the plate. Daylen Lile put an exclamation point on the stanza with an opposite-field, three-run home run.
Lile was also responsible for the final run in the game, building the margin to 6-1 in the seventh inning with a two-out RBI single to left. Five of Fredericksburg's six runs came with two outs.
Cuevas took the loss after allowing five runs on four hits in 3.0 innings of work. Michael Sansone turned in 2.0 scoreless innings as the first arm out of the pen. Jack Hartman surrendered one unearned run in 2.0 innings on the hill, his second multi-inning appearance of the season. Matt Wyatt was the fourth and final pitcher to appear, tossing a scoreless eighth.
Lile finished his evening 2-3 with a home run and four runs batted in to lead the Nationals. The RiverDogs received a pair of hits from Isaac and Chandler Simpson. The RiverDogs put two on base with less than two outs in four separate innings.
The RiverDogs have another opportunity to tally their first win of the week on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. RHP Yoniel Curet (3-1, 4.24) will toe the slab first for the RiverDogs. Fredericksburg will hand the ball to RHP Luke Young (0-1, 4.70). The Nationals have won 13 of their last 14 games.
Fredericksburg 6, Charleston 1
Click here for the box score
Win: Caceres (3-0)
Loss: Cuevas (2-5)
HR: Charleston: None
