The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (12-19) played game four on Friday night for Star Wars night against the Wilson Warbirds (14-17) from Segra Stadium. Joey Dixon was on the mound for Fayetteville against Jacob Morrison of Wilson.
At the top of the second inning, Wilson had runners on first and second base when Pedro Ibarguen stole second base, and Filippo Di Turi stole home plate for a 1-0 lead. Later, Ibarguen stole third base on a wild pitch by Joey Dixon.
In the bottom of the second inning, Fayetteville had a runner on second base when Camilo Diaz reached first base on a throwing error by second baseman Luis Lameda. Juan Sierra scored, and the game was tied 1-1. With two outs, Camilo Diaz was caught stealing second base, and the inning was over.
At the top of the third inning with one out, Wilson would get the run back on a solo home run by Jose Anderson to right field for a 2-1 lead. Dixon struck out Frederi Montero, and a groundout by Hector Salas ended the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, Joey Dixon struck out Filippo Di Turi, and his day was done. He pitched 3.1 innings, allowing three hits, two runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts, throwing 57 pitches, of which 34 were strikes. Jose Serrano was the new pitcher for Fayetteville.
Later, Wilson would have runners on the corners with two outs, when Handelfry Encarnacion hit an RBI double to left field. Pedro Ibarguen scored for a 3-1 lead. Jadyn Fielder tried to score, but was called out at home plate, and the inning was over.
At the top of the sixth inning, Wilson had a runner on first base when Pedro Ibarguen hit a two-run home run to left field for a 5-1 lead. It was Ibarguen’s first home run of the season. Later, Wilson had a runner on second base when Handelfry Encarnacion raced first base on a throwing error by Camilo Diaz, scoring Jadyn Fielder for a 6-1 lead.
Wilson would have runners on the corners when Juan Ortuno stole second base, and Handelfry Encarnacion scored on a fielding error by Camilo Diaz, which made it 7-1. With two outs, a groundout by Frederi Montero ended the inning. Jose Serrano pitched 2.2 innings, allowing three hits, five runs, two walks, and five strikeouts, throwing 73 pitches, of which 35 were strikes.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had runners on first and second base. First baseman Nehomar Ochoa Jr. reached first base on a fielding error by Pedro Ibarguen. Xavier Neyens and Kevin Alvarez scored. The Woodpeckers cut the deficit to 7-3. Next, right fielder Juan Sierra hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Ochoa Jr., and it was now 7-4. With two outs, a groundout by Arturo Flores ended the inning.
Jackson Wells was the new pitcher for Fayetteville at the top of the seventh inning. With one out and a runner on first base, Wilson second baseman Luis Lameda hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Kevin Garcia for an 8-4 lead.
Moving to the top of the eighth inning, Wilson had a runner on third base when Frederi Montero hit an RBI single to right field. Juan Ortuno scored for a 9-4 lead. With two outs, Wells struck out Kevin Garcia to end the inning.
At the top of the ninth inning, Jackson Wells put two runners on base, leading to Brandon Cassedy replacing him. With runners on second and third base, Jadyn Fielder grounded out to second base. Filippo Di Turi scored for a 10-4 lead. With two outs, Cassedy struck out Handelfry Encarnacion, and the inning was over. Jackson Wells pitched 2.2 innings, allowing three hits, three runs, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 55 pitches, of which 28 were strikes. Brandon Cassedy struck out two, throwing 12 pitches, of which eight were strikes.
Fayetteville’s bats went quiet in the bottom of the ninth inning. They lost to the Warbirds 10-4. Fayetteville finished the night with five hits, committed three errors, went 1 for 4 with runners in scoring position, and left two men on base. Juan Sierra went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.
The loss went to Fayetteville starter Joey Dixon, and the win went to Wilson pitcher Anfernny Reyes, while Joshua Quezada earned the save (1).
The Woodpeckers and Warbirds play game five on Saturday at 7:05 pm on the MLB App. Fayetteville has yet to name a starter, while Enderson Mercado (0-2, 6.75 ERA) will be on the mound for Wilson.
