The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (15-21) played game three on Thursday night against the Delmarva Shorebirds (14-22) from Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. Javier Perez was on the mound for Fayetteville against Christian Rodriguez of Delmarva.
The game was scoreless for the first five innings until the top of the sixth inning. Fayetteville had runners on the corners when Delmarva pitcher Luis Beltrán threw a wild pitch, and Anthony Huezo scored for a 1-0 lead. Later, Fayetteville had the bases loaded when Camilo Diaz grounded into a forceout at second base, scoring Nehomar Ochoa Jr. for a 2-0 lead. With two outs, D.J. Newman struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
At the top of the seventh inning, Fayetteville had a runner on third base when Anthony Huezo hit an RBI single to right field. German Ramirez scored for a 4-0 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Nehomar Ochoa Jr. ended the inning.
At the top of the eighth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on third base when Yosweld Vasquez hit an RBI single to left field. Arturo Flores scored for a 4-0 lead. D.J. Newman followed up with an RBI double to right field, scoring Vasquez for a 5-0 lead. With two outs, Brandon Forrester hit an RBI single to left field. D.J. Newman scored for a 6-3 lead. Anthony Huezo struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Fayetteville starter Javier Perez pitched eight innings, allowing three hits and seven strikeouts, throwing 67 pitches, of which 52 were strikes. Leomar Rosario was the new pitcher for Fayetteville in the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs and runners on first and second base, Stiven Martinez hit a two-run RBI single to left field, and the Shorebirds cut the deficit to 6-2. A throwing error by catcher Arturo Flores allowed Delmarva to score another run. It was now 6-3. Andrés Nolaya grounded into a forceout at second base, and the game was over.
The Woodpeckers defeated the Shorebirds 6-3 for their second win in a row. Fayetteville finished the night with five hits, committed three errors, went 3 for 11 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Anthony Huezo went 1 for 3 with two walks, an RBI, and two stolen bases. The win went to Fayetteville starter Javier Perez (3-2), and the loss went to Delmarva pitcher Luis Beltrán (1-1).
The Woodpeckers and Shorebirds play game four on Friday at 7:05 pm on the MLB App. Joey Dixon (0-1, 2.84 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Denton Biller (1-1, 5.68 ERA) of Delmarva.
