The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (3-10) played game four on Friday night against the Augusta GreenJackets (7-6) from SRP Park. Ethan Pecko was on the mound for Fayetteville against Ethan Bagwell of Augusta.
At the top of the first inning, Fayetteville had runners on first and second base with two outs when left fielder Josh Wakefield hit a line drive RBI double to left field. Xavier Neyens scored for a 1-0 lead. A groundout by German Ramirez ended the inning.
At the top of the third inning with one out, Fayetteville had the bases loaded when Josh Wakefield grounded into a forceout at second base. Kevin Alvarez scored for a 2-0 lead. Wakefield would steal second base, but German Ramirez struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Fayetteville starter Ethan Pecko pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and eight strikeouts, throwing 52 pitches, of which 33 were strikes. Gabel Pentecost was the new pitcher for Fayetteville in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Moving to the bottom of the sixth inning, Augusta had runners on second and third base when designated hitter Junior Garcia hit a two-run RBI single to center field. Dallas Macias and Alex Lodise scored, and the game was tied 2-2. Juan Mateo grounded into a forceout at second base, and the inning was over.
At the top of the seventh inning, Fayetteville first baseman Nehomar Ochoa Jr. hit a solo home run to center field to give the Woodpeckers a 3-2 lead. At the top of the eighth inning, Fayetteville center fielder Anthony Huezo hit a solo home run to right field for a 4-2 lead. It was Ochoa Jr. and Huezo’s first home runs of the season.
At the top of the ninth, Fayetteville added insurance runs. They had runners on first and second base with two outs when Xavier Neyens hit a three-run home run to left field for a 7-2 lead. It was Neyens’s second home run of the season. A pop-out by Anthony Huezo ended the inning.
Gabel Pentecost pitched five innings, allowing three hits, two runs, one walk, and eight strikeouts, throwing 72 pitches, of which 46 were strikes. Leomar Rosario was the new pitcher for Fayetteville in the bottom of the ninth inning. Rosario allowed a hit, two walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 27 pitches, of which 13 were strikes, to get the final three outs of the game.
The Fayetteville Woodpeckers ended a three-game losing streak by defeating the Augusta GreenJackets by the final score of 7-4. It is Fayetteville’s first road win of the season. They finished the night with seven hits, committed one error, went 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base.
Fayetteville shortstop Xavier Neyens went 1 for 3 with a home run, two walks, and three RBIs. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Gabel Pentecost (1-1), and the loss went to Augusta pitcher Carter Lovasz (0-1).
The Woodpeckers and GreenJackets play game five on Saturday at 6:05 pm on the MLB App. Ryan Forcucci (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Zach Royse (0-0, 7.04 ERA) of Augusta.
