The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (1-1) hosted the Wilson Warbirds (1-1) in game two on Saturday night in front of 3,548 fans at Segra Stadium. Ethan Pecko was on the mound for Fayetteville against Enniel Cortez of Wilson.
Ethan Pecko pitched two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and four strikeouts, throwing 34 pitches, of which 23 were strikes, while Enniel Cortez pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk, and two strikeouts, throwing 47 pitches, of which 30 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Enderson Mercado was the new pitcher for Wilson. He began the inning by walking Fayetteville second baseman Nick Monistere, followed by a single from Fayetteville left fielder Anthony Huezo.
Next, Fayetteville center fielder Josh Wakefield hit the ball to third baseman Filippo Di Turi. A throwing error by Turi allowed Nick Monistere to score, and the Woodpeckers took a 1-0 lead. Fayetteville was unable to add any more runs in the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on first base when second baseman Nick Monistere hit an RBI single to left field. Kevin Alvarez scored for a 2-0 lead. With two outs, Monistere was caught stealing second base.
Moving to the top of the seventh inning, Charlie Weber was the pitcher for Fayetteville. After striking out Jose Anderson, Weber gave up a home run to Frederi Montero, and the Woodpeckers now led the Warbirds 2-1. Later, Weber loaded the bases when he walked Juan Otuno, and scoring was Filippo Di Turi to tie the game 2-2. Weber would then walk Brady Ebel, and the Warbirds took a 3-2 lead. Jackson Wells replaced Charlie Weber. Wells got Handelfry Encarnacion to ground out, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Fayetteville had runners on first and second base with one out when third baseman Xavier Neyens hit a two-run line drive RBI double to left field. Hector Salas and Kevin Alverez scored to put the Woodpeckers up 4-3.
At the top of the eighth inning, Wilson had runners on second and third base when Yannic Walther brought home Frederi Montero with a sacrifice fly to left field. The game was tied 4-4.
Moving to the bottom of the eighth inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded with one out when right fielder Kevin Alvarez hit a two-run fly ball RBI double to right field. Arturo Flores and Kenni Gomez scored to put the Woodpeckers up 6-4.
At the top of the ninth inning, Wilson had a runner on first base with two outs when Handelfry Encarnacion hit an RBI double to right field. Juan Ortuno scored to make it a one-run game. Fayetteville pitcher Jackson Wells struck out Jose Anderson to end the game. The Fayetteville Woodpeckers picked up their first win of the season with a 6-4 win.
Fayetteville finished the night with 11 hits, went 4 for 18 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base. Right fielder Kevin Alvarez went 4 for 5 with a double, two stolen bases, and two RBIs, while designated hitter Kenni Gomez went 3 for 4 with three singles.
The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Jackson Wells for his first win of the season. He pitched 2.1 innings, allowing three hits, two runs, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 49 pitches, of which 27 were strikes. The loss went to Wilson pitcher Joshua Quezada.
The Woodpeckers and Warbirds conclude the three-game series on Sunday at 5:05 pm on the MLB App. Luis Aguilar will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Jarrette Bonet of Wilson.
