The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (18-24) and the Fredericksburg Nationals (30-12) played game three on Thursday night at Segra Stadium. Javier Perez was on the mound for Fayetteville against Alexander Meckley of Fredericksburg.
The game was scoreless for two and a half innings until the bottom of the third inning. Fayetteville had a runner on third base when Anthony Huezo hit an RBI double to right field, scoring D.J. Newman for a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Arturo Flores hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Huezo for a 2-0 lead. With two outs, Hector Salas was called out on strikes, and the inning was over.
At the top of the fourth inning, Fredericksburg had the bases loaded when Javier Perez walked Nick Hollifield, forcing in a run, which made it 2-1. With the bases loaded, Dashyll Tejeda cleared the bases with a three-run RBI triple to center field for a 4-2 lead. Jordan Williams followed by hitting a two-run home run to right field for a 6-2 lead. It was his second home run of the season. Perez struck out Luke Dickerson to retire the side.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Fayetteville had runners on the corners when Carlos Cauro hit a sacrifice fly to center field. Camilo Diaz scored, and it was now 6-3. With two outs, D.J. Newman was called out on strikes, and the inning was over.
Javier Perez pitched 4.2 innings, allowing six hits, six runs, two walks, and six strikeouts, throwing 84 pitches, of which 55 were strikes. Jackson Wells replaced Perez at the top of the fifth inning with two outs. Wells struck out Rafael Ramirez Jr. to retire the side.
In the bottom of the fifth inning with one out, Fayetteville had the bases loaded when Hector Salas worked a four-pitch walk, scoring Anthony Huezo, which made it 6-4. Camilo Diaz grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
At the top of the sixth inning, Fredericksburg had runners on the corners when Elian Soto hit an RBI single to right field. Juan Cruz scored for a 7-4 lead. Two batters later, the Nationals had the bases loaded when Jordan Williams hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Nick Hollifield for an 8-4 lead. Luck Dickerson followed up by clearing the bases with a three-run home run to left field for an 11-4 lead. It was his fifth home run of the season. With two outs, Wells struck out Nick Peoples to retire the side.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on second base when D.J. Newman hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Carlos Cauro, and the Woodpeckers trailed the Nationals 11-5. With two outs, Anthony Huezo struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
At the top of the seventh inning, Fredericksburg had a runner on third base when Nick Hollifield hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Rafael Ramirez Jr. for a 12-5 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Dashyll Tejeda ended the inning.
Jackson Wells pitched 2.1 innings, allowing six hits, six runs, one walk, and four strikeouts, throwing 60 pitches, of which 38 were strikes. Leomar Rosario pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the eighth inning.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Fayetteville had runners on first and second base when Anthony Huezo hit a three-run home run to right field. The Woodpeckers cut the deficit to 12-8. It was Huezo’s sixth home run of the season. A groundout by Juan Sierra ended the inning.
Rosario pitched two innings, allowing four walks and six strikeouts, throwing 48 pitches, of which 22 were strikes.
Fayetteville was unable to get back into the game. The Woodpeckers lost the Nationals 12-5. It is Fayetteville’s third straight loss. Fayetteville finished the night with 10 hits, committed one error, went 5 for 12 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base.
Anthony Huezo went 2 for 4 with a home run, a double, a stolen base, a hit by a pitch, and four RBIs. The loss went to Fayetteville starter Javier Perez (3-3), and the win went to Fredericksburg pitcher Jared Beck (1-2).
The Woodpeckers and Nationals play game four on Friday at 7:05 pm on the MLB App. Charlie Weber (1-1, 5.59 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Mikey Tepper (0-0, 3.52 ERA) of Fredericksburg.
