ZEBULON – The Fredericksburg Nationals scored three times in the top of the ninth inning to beat the Carolina Mudcats 5-2 and advance to the Carolina League Championship Series on Thursday night at Five County Stadium.
Fredericksburg (2-0) entered the ninth inning with the game deadlocked at two but loaded the bases with no-one out as Mudcat reliever Jeison Pena (L, 0-1) issued a pair of walks and hit a batter to set the table for the Nationals. They took advantage scoring the eventual winning run on a wild pitch and tacking on two more thanks to a Kevin Bazzell RBI single and a sacrifice fly from Brandon Pimentel for the 5-2 lead.
Carolina (0-2) had a chance in the last of the ninth against Nationals closer Anthony Arguelles (S, 1) as they loaded the bases with two out but could not push across any runs for the 5-2 final.
The Nationals jumped out to a 1-0 lead for the second straight game scoring on an RBI groundout in the first inning.
It would remain an 1-0 game until the Mudcats took the lead in the sixth inning. Juan Baez grounded out to short to tie the game before Marco Dinges delivered a double down the left field line to give the Mudcats a 2-1 lead.
That advantage would be short lived as Fredericksburg knotted it up again on the first pitch of the seventh inning. Elijah Green socked the first pitch he saw over the wall in left field to square the game at two.
Following the home run, Alexander Meckley (W, 1-0) worked a pair of perfect innings to preserve the tie.
Fredericksburg would break the tie in the ninth scoring three times to advance to the Carolina League Championship Series which begins on Sunday.
The Carolina Mudcats will open the 2025 season at Five County Stadium on Friday, April 4 against the Fredericksburg Nationals.
