The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (1-5) played three at Segra Stadium on Thursday evening against the Charleston RiverDogs (3-3). Javier Perez was on the mound for Fayetteville against Dom Fritton of Charleston.
At the top of the first inning, Charleston center fielder Brendan Summerhill and second baseman Cooper Flemming both hit solo home runs to right field to put the RiverDogs up 2-0 with one out. It was Summerhill and Flemming’s first home runs of the season. Perez struck out Taitn Gray and Brailer Guerrero to end the inning.
Moving to the top of the third inning with one out, Charleston shortstop Daniel Pierce hit a solo home run to left field to extend Charleston’s lead to 3-0. It was Pierce’s first home run of the season.
In the bottom of the third inning with two outs, Fayetteville right fielder Josh Wakefield put the Woodpeckers on the board with a solo home run to center field. The Woodpeckers trailed the RiverDogs 3-1. It was Wakefield’s second home run of the season. A groundout by Anthony Huezo ended the inning.
Fayetteville starter Javier Perez pitched four innings, allowing three hits, three runs, one walk, and five strikeouts, throwing 62 pitches, of which 43 were strikes. Jose Serrano was the new pitcher for Fayetteville at the top of the fifth inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Charleston had a runner on second base when shortstop Daniel Pierce hit an RBI single to center field. Alberth Palma scored for a 4-1 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Cooper Flemming ended the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had runners on the corners with one out when a throwing error by Charleston catcher Brody Donay allowed Nick Monistere to score, while German Rameriz went to third base. The Woodpeckers trailed the RiverDogs 4-2. A sacrifice fly by designated hitter Yosweld Vasquez brought home Rameriz, and it was now a one-score game, 4-3. A groundout by Nehomar Ochoa Jr. ended the inning.
At the top of the seventh inning, Fayetteville pitcher Jose Serrano loaded the bases with nobody out. Charleston shortstop Daniel Pierce grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, while James Quinn-Irons scored to extend Charleston’s lead to 5-3. Cooper Flemming struck out swinging to end the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Fayetteville had a runner on second base when catcher Keduar Trujillo hit a ground ball RBI single to center field. Camilo Diaz scored, and the Woodpeckers made it a one-run game, 5-4. With one out, Trujillo was caught stealing second base, and Anthony Huezo struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Jose Serrano pitched four innings, allowing six hits, two runs, one walk, and four strikeouts, throwing 55 pitches, of which 38 were strikes. Jackson Wells pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the ninth inning. With one out, Charleston shortstop Daniel Pierce hit a two-run home run to left field for a 7-4 lead. Charleston did not add any more runs in the inning. Wells allowed two hits, two runs, two walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 27 pitches, of which 15 were strikes.
Fayetteville would go on to lose to Charleston by the final score of 7-4 for their fourth consecutive loss. They finished the night with seven hits, committed two errors, went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base. Right fielder Josh Wakefield went 2 for 4 with a single, a home run, and one RBI.
The loss went to Fayetteville starter Javier Perez for his first loss of the season, and the win went to Charleston pitcher Riley Stanford.
The Woodpeckers and the RiverDogs play game five on Friday at 7:05 pm on the MLB App. Gabel Pentecost (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Ethan Storm (0-0, 2.45 ERA) of Charleston.
