The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (19-24) played game four on Friday night against the Fredericksburg Nationals (30-13) at Segra Stadium. Charlie Weber was on the mound for Fayetteville against Mikey Tepper of Fredericksburg.
In the bottom of the first inning, Fayetteville had runners on first and second base when Josh Wakefield hit an RBI single to first base. First baseman Juan Cruz threw the ball to third baseman Rafael Ramirez Jr., but the ball deflected off of him, and Xavier Neyens scored for a 1-0 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Juan Sierra ended the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Fredericksburg had runners on second and third base when Gavin Fien hit a soft RBI single to shortstop. Elian Soto scored, and the game was tied 1-1. Later, a groundout by Coy James brought home Jordan Williams to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead. With two outs, Fredericksburg had the bases loaded when Charlie Weber struck out Juan Cruz to end the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Charlie Weber allowed a hit before he was replaced by Jose Serrano. Weber pitched 4.2 innings, allowing three hits, two runs, two walks, and six strikeouts, throwing 82 pitches, of which 44 were strikes. Serrano walked Nick Peoples before Rafael Ramirez Jr. hit an RBI double to center field, scoring James for a 3-1 lead. With two outs, Serrano struck out Juan Cruz to retire the side.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had runners on the corners when Fredericksburg was called for a disengagement violation, and Camilo Diaz scored. The Woodpeckers trailed the Nationals 3-2. With a runner on third base, Jack Ross tied the game 3-3 with an RBI single to right field, scoring Josh Wakefield. With two outs, a groundout by German Ramirez ended the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded with two outs. Juan Sierra hit an RBI single to shortstop, scoring Anthony Huezo for a 4-3 lead. Jack Moss followed up with a two-run RBI single to pitcher Levi Huesman. He threw the ball, and it was deflected off first baseman Juan Cruz. Kevin Alvarez and Camilo Diaz scored for a 6-3 lead. Yosweld Vasquez struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Fayetteville had runners on the corners when Kevin Alvarez hit a sacrifice fly to center field. German Ramirez scored for a 7-3 lead. With two outs and a runner on third base, Camilo Diaz struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
At the top of the ninth inning, Fredericksburg had runners on second and third base with two outs, when Coy James hit a two-run RBI single to left field. Gavin Fien and Luke Dickerson scored, and Coy James was called out at second base for the final out of the game. The Woodpeckers defeated the Nationals 7-5 for their first win in this series. They also snapped a three-game losing streak.
Fayetteville finished the night with 11 hits, committed four errors, went 4 for 15 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. Josh Wakefield went 2 for 3 with two singles, a walk, a stolen base, and an RBI. Jack Moss went 3 for 4 with three singles and three RBIs.
The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Jose Serrano (2-1). He pitched 4.2 innings, allowing three hits, two runs, one walk, and five strikeouts, throwing 68 pitches, of which 46 were strikes. The loss went to Fredericksburg pitcher Levi Huesman (1-1).
The Woodpeckers and Nationals play game five on Saturday at 7:05 pm on the MLB App. Cole MacRae (1-1, 4.50 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Miguel Sime Jr. (0-2, 3.43 ERA) of Fredericksburg.
