The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (4-12) returned to Segra Stadium on Tuesday night to begin a six-game series against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (9-7). Ryan Verdugo was on the mound for Fayetteville against Dominick Reid of Myrtle Beach.
The game was scoreless for one and a half innings until the bottom of the second inning. Fayetteville right fielder Anthony Huezo hit a solo home run to left-center field for a 1-0 lead. It was Huezo’s third home run of the season.
Fayetteville left fielder Josh Wakefield hit a single and later stole second base. Later, Fayetteville had runners on second and third base when first baseman Nehomar Ochoa Jr. reached first base on a missed catch error by Myrtle Beach first baseman Michael Carico.
Wakefield scored for a 2-0 lead. Second baseman Brandon Forrester followed up with an RBI single to right field. German Ramirez scored for a 3-0 lead. A groundout by Kevin Alverez, and Xavier Neyens struck out swinging, ended the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the fourth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on second base when third baseman Xavier Neyens hit an RBI double to right field. Kevin Alvarez scored for a 4-0 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Nick Monistere ended the inning.
Fayetteville starter Ryan Verdugo pitched 4.1 innings, allowing two hits, three walks, and four strikeouts, throwing 72 pitches, of which 44 were strikes. Jagger Beck was the new pitcher for Fayetteville at the top of the fifth inning.
Moving to the top of the seventh inning, Myrtle Beach had runners on first and second base with two outs when Josiah Hartshorn hit a ground ball RBI single to right field. Ty Southisene scored, and Fayetteville’s lead was now 4-1. Michael Carico followed up with an RBI single to right field, scoring Alexey Lumpsey, and it was now 4-2. With two outs, Beck struck out Logan Poteet, and the inning was over. Beck would pitch 3.1 innings, allowing five hits, two runs, one walk, and six strikeouts, throwing 59 pitches, of which 38 were strikes.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Fayetteville would get those two runs back. They had runners on second and third base when catcher Arturo Flores hit a two-run RBI double to center field. Anthony Huezo and Josh Wakefield scored for a 6-2 lead. They were unable to add any more runs in the inning.
Leomar Rosario was the new pitcher for Fayetteville at the top of the eighth inning. He pitched 1.1 innings, allowing two walks and one strikeout, throwing 32 pitches, of which 17 were strikes, to get the final six outs of the game. The Woodpeckers defeated the Pelicans by the final score of 6-2. They snap a two-game losing streak.
Fayetteville finished the night with 10 hits, 3 for 16 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. Anthony Huezo went 2 for 3 with a home run, a walk, an RBI, and two stolen bases, while Josh Wakefield went 2 for 3 with a walk and three stolen bases.
The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Leomar Rosario (1-1), and the loss went to Myrtle Beach starter Dominick Reid (0-1). The Woodpeckers and Pelicans play game two on Wednesday at 11:05 am on the MLB App.
