After rain postponed Friday night’s game, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (10-16) and the Charleston RiverDogs (16-10) played a doubleheader on Saturday from Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Ballpark. In game one, Ryan Forcucci was on the mound for Fayetteville against Aidan Haugh of Charleston.
At the top of the first inning, Fayetteville third baseman Xavier Neyens hit a solo home run to center field for a 1-0 lead. It was his fourth home run of the season. Nick Monistere worked a four-pitch walk and later stole second base. Right fielder Josh Wakefield hit an RBI double to left field. Monistere scored for a 2-0 lead. It was Wakefield’s second double of the season. With two outs, a flyout by Nehomar Ochoa Jr. ended the inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, Charleston had runners on the corners when Cooper Flemming hit an RBI single to shortstop German Ramirez. Dean Moss scored, and the RiverDogs cut the deficit to 2-1. With the bases loaded and one out, Alberth Palma grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Fayetteville starter Ryan Forcucci hit two players and walked Derek Datil to load the bases. Forcucci hit Dean Moss, which forced in a run, and the game was tied 2-2. Then, Forcucci walked Caden Bodine, and the RiverDogs took a 3-2 lead. Forcucci was replaced by Jackson Wells. Cooper Flemming followed up with a two-run RBI single to center field.
Derek Datil and Dean Moss scored for a 5-2 lead. Two batters later, with one out and runners on the corners, Daniel Pierce hit a sacrifice fly to left field. Caden Bodine scored for a 6-2 lead. Alberth Palma grounded out to shortstop, and the inning was over. Ryan Forcucci pitched one inning, allowing two hits, six runs, and four walks, throwing 48 pitches, of which 20 were strikes. Jackson Wells pitched two innings, allowing one hit, a walk, and one strikeout, throwing 34 pitches, of which 22 were strikes.
At the top of the third inning, Fayetteville center fielder Zach Cole hit a solo home run to center field. The Woodpeckers cut the deficit to 6-3. Xavier Neyens struck out, Nick Monistere grounded out to third base, and a flyout by Josh Wakefield ended the inning.
Cole MacRae was the new pitcher for Fayetteville in the bottom of the fourth inning. At the top of the fifth inning, Fayetteville left fielder Kevin Alvarez hit a solo home run to center field, and it was now 6-4. It was Alvarez’s second home run of the season.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Charleston had runners on second and third base when a balk was called on MacRae. Daniel Pierce scored for a 7-4 lead. A sacrifice fly by Nicandro Aybar brought home Alberth Palma for an 8-4 lead. With two outs, MacRae struck out Marshall Toole to end the inning. Cole MacRae pitched three innings, allowing one hit, two runs, two walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 44 pitches, of which 23 were strikes.
At the top of the seventh inning, Fayetteville had a runner on first base when Xavier Neyens hit his second home run to right-center field, and it was now 8-6. Fayetteville was unable to continue the momentum and went on to lose game one by the final score of 8-6.
Fayetteville finished game one with 10 hits, went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. Xavier Neyens went 3 for 4 with two home runs and three RBIs. The loss went to Fayetteville starter Ryan Forcucci (0-2), and the win went to Charleston starter Aidan Haugh (1-2).
In game two, Joey Dixon was on the mound for Fayetteville against Aidan Cremarosa of Charleston.
At the top of the second inning with one out, Fayetteville first baseman Arturo Flores hit a home run to center field for a 1-0 lead. It was Flores’s third home run of the season. A pop-out by Yosweld Vasquez and D.J. Newman struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Fayetteville starter Joey Dixon pitched three innings with seven strikeouts, throwing 41 pitches, of which 24 were strikes. Jose Serrano was the new pitcher for Fayetteville in the bottom of the fourth inning. Charleston had runners on first and second base when Caden Bodine hit a three-run home run to right field, giving the RiverDogs a 3-1 lead.
With one out, Alberth Palma reached first base on a fielding error by Brandon Forrester. Later, the bases would be loaded when a balk was called on Dixon. Brailer Guerrero scored for a 4-1 lead. Two batters later with two outs, Derek Datil hit an RBI double to center field. Jose Monzon scored for a 5-1 lead. A lineout by Nicandro Aybar ended the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the fifth inning, Charleston had the bases loaded when Jose Serrano hit Alberth Palma, and it was now 6-1. Yirer Garcia popped up to second base, Brandon Forrester could not make the catch, and two more runs scored for an 8-1 lead.
Leomar Rosario replaced Jose Serrano. A passed ball by catcher Yosweld Vadquez made it 9-1. Rosario struck out Nicandro Aybar, and the inning finally came to an end. Serrano pitched 1.2 innings, allowing five hits, nine runs, four walks, and one strikeout, throwing 57 pitches, of which 28 were strikes.
At the top of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had runners on the corners when Arturo Flores hit an RBI single to right field. Nick Monistere scored, and the Woodpeckers cut the deficit to 9-2. With two outs, a flyout by Yosweld Vasquez ended the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Charleston had the bases loaded when Brailer Guerrero hit a sacrifice fly to left field. Marshall Toole scored for a 10-2. Alberth Palma grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Fayetteville’s bats went quiet at the top of the seventh inning. The Woodpeckers were swept in the doubleheader by the final score of 10-2. Fayetteville finished game two with five hits, committed two errors, went 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base. The loss went to Fayetteville pitcher Jose Serrano (0-1), and the win went to Charleston starter Aidan Cremarosa (3-0).
The Woodpeckers and RiverDogs conclude the six-game series on Sunday at 5:05 pm on the MLB App.
