Travis Sykora shoves, FredNats clinch Carolina League Championship

The Fredericksburg Nationals got rained out on Tuesday evening in their first chance to clinch the Low-A Carolina League Championship, but after splitting a doubleheader on Wednesday evening, they have officially been crowned Champions of the Carolina League! The win earned the Nationals their first Single A affiliate title since the Potomac Nationals in 2014.

Facing off against the Low-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox in the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, the FredNats were held to just 1 hit in a shutout, 3-0 loss in the first game of the doubleheader on Wednesday evening. In that first matchup, the FredNats wasted a solid start from lefty and Washington's #6 prospect, Alex Clemmey, the main prospect piece to return in the Lane Thomas trade at the deadline, who fired 4.1 innings, allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits while walking one and striking out 9 batters in a shortened start. 2024 1st-round pick and Washington's #5 prosect Seaver King, starting at SS, picked up the only hit for the FredNats in a quiet loss to begin the evening. Outfielder Drake Logan opened the scoring for the Cannon Ballers in the 4th inning with a sacrifice fly, and centerfielder Albertson Asigen tripled in two more to give the Cannon Ballers a 3-0 lead that the FredNats wouldn't be able to overcome, tying the series at 1-1, and setting the stage for a winner-take-all opportunity to clinch the Carolina League Championship.

Admittedly, the FredNats were likely as comfortable as could be going into that penultimate game of the Low-A season, as Washington's #3 prospect, 20-year-old righty Travis Sykora, would be taking the ball to get the FredNats to the promised land. Needless to say, Sykora absolutely dominated the Cannon Ballers on Wednesday night, shoving 5 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit and striking out 9, needing just 67 pitches to get through the start. Sykora began the game by setting down 7 of the first 9 batters on strikes, showing that he truly is profiling as a big-game pitcher and dominant righty capable of being the future ace of the big league rotation.

But Sykora didn't do it all by himself, as a 2-run homer by first baseman Brandon Pimentel in the 2nd inning gave Sykora all the cushion he would need, with Nathaniel Ochoa Leyva later bringing in an insurance run on an RBI single in the 6th inning as well. This brought on Anthony Arguelles to close out the game for the FredNats, who set the side down in order in the 7th inning and struck out a pair to send the crowd into a frenzy and the FredNats storming onto the field.

In the end, the FredNats secured a 3-0 victory, completely flipping the script from Game 2 earlier on Wedneday evening, as they held the Cannon Ballers to just 1 hit and no runs. Other big contributors from the Carolina League Champions included #21 prospect Elijah Green, who showed off his 70-grade speed with a tripled, and #10 prospect Caleb Lomavita, who added a pair of hits as well.

The MiLB season is coming to an end for the organization across all levels, as the only affiliate left that remains in action will be the AAA Rochester Red Wings, who will wrap up their season this weekend. It will be interesting to see where Wednesday's star of the show, Travis Sykora, who was also named the Pitcher of the Year in the Carolina League, starts his season in 2025, but I'd have to guess he's pitched his last game in Low-A, with a promotion to High-A Wilmington seemingly around the corner.

Congratulations to the Fredericksburg Nationals from the team here at District on Deck! As always, keep up with the latest Nats' news by following us on X, @DistrictOnDeck, and myself, @DCBerk.

All stats in this article were provided by MiLB.com and MLB.com.