After rain postponed Saturday night’s game, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (19-26) and the Fredericksburg Nationals (32-13) concluded the six-game series with a doubleheader on Sunday at Segra Stadium. In game one, Cole MacRae was on the mound for Fayetteville against Miguel Sime Jr. of Fredericksburg.
At the top of the first inning, Fredericksburg had runners on the corners when Luke Dickerson hit a sacrifice fly to left field. Eli Willits scored for a 1-0 lead. With two outs, MacRae struck out Rafael Ramirez Jr. to retire the side.
Moving to the bottom of the third inning, Fayetteville second baseman Hector Salas and left fielder D.J. Newman worked four-pitch walks. With one out, a wild pitch moved both runners up a base. With two outs, Xavier Neyens worked a four-pitch walk that loaded the bases. A balk was called on Fredericksburg starter Miguel Sime Jr. Salas scored, and the game was tied 1-1. Kevin Alvarez struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
At the top of the fourth inning, Fredericksburg had the bases loaded when MacRae walked Nick Peoples. Rafael Ramirez Jr. scored to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead. MacRae was replaced by Ryan Mathiesen. Fredericksburg shortstop Eli Willits hit a two-run RBI double to center field, scoring Nick Hollifield and Juan Cruz for a 4-1 lead.
With two outs, a flyout by Gavin Fien ended the inning. Cole MacRae pitched 3.1 innings, allowing two hits, four runs, five walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 68 pitches, of which 37 were strikes. Ryan Mathiesen pitched 1.2 innings, allowing one hit and one strikeout, throwing 20 pitches, of which 13 were strikes.
Jose Varela pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the sixth inning. With one out, he walked Nick Hollifield. Juan Cruz followed up with a two-run home run to left field for a 6-1 lead. It was his third home run of the season. Varela gave up a single to Nick Peoples before Eli Willits grounded into a 3-6 inning-ending double play.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had runners on second and third base when Hector Salas grounded out to second base. Arturo Flores scored, and it was now 6-2. With two outs, a groundout by D.J. Newman ended the inning.
Fayetteville did not have answers and went on to lose game one by the final score of 6-2. Fayetteville finished the game with one hit, committed one run, went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. The loss went to Fayetteville starter Cole MacRae (1-2), and the win went to Fredericksburg pitcher Bryce Montes de Oca (1-0).
In game two, Aubrey Smith was on the mound for Fayetteville against Carson Fischer of Fredericksburg. They would complete the top of the first inning before rain moved in to put the game on a delay. The game was delayed for 20 minutes before it resumed.
The game was scoreless in the first two innings until the top of the third inning. Fredericksburg had a runner on second base when Dashyll Tejeda hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Jordan Williams for a 1-0 lead. Tejeda would steal second base.
Gavin Fien followed up by hitting an RBI single to left field, scoring Tejeda for a 2-0 lead. Later, Fredericksburg had runners on second and third base when Nick Peoples hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Fien for a 3-0 lead. With two outs, Smith struck out Rafael Ramirez Jr. to retire the side.
At the top of the fourth inning, Fredericksburg had a runner on second base when Jordan Williams hit a two-run home run to right field for a 5-0 lead. It was his third home run of the season. Fayetteville starter Aubrey Smith was replaced by Brandon Cassedy. Smith pitched 3.1 innings, allowing five hits, five runs, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 65 pitches, of which 42 were strikes.
With two outs, the Nationals had runners on second and third base when Coy James hit a three-run home run to left field, and it was now 8-0. It was his sixth home run of the season. Cassedy struck out Nick Peoples to retire the side. Cassedy allowed a hit, three runs, and two strikeouts, throwing 29 pitches, of which 15 were strikes.
Jesus Carrera was the new pitcher for Fayetteville at the top of the fifth inning. Fredericksburg catcher Sir Jamison Jones hit a solo home run to left field for a 9-0 lead. It was his fifth home run of the season. With two outs, Carrera struck out Manuel Cabrera to end the inning. Carrera allowed two hits, one run, and two strikeouts, throwing 20 pitches, of which 14 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Fayetteville had runners on the corners when Josh Wakefield hit an RBI single to center field. Carlos Cauro scored, and the Woodpeckers trailed the Nationals 9-1. A groundout by Anthony Huezo ended the inning.
Leomar Rosario pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the sixth inning. He walked two and struck out two, throwing 24 pitches, of which 12 were strikes. Rosario would pitch two innings, allowing two walks and four strikeouts, throwing 35 pitches, of which 21 were strikes.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had runners on the corners when a balk was called on Fredericksburg pitcher Ryan Minckler. Jack Moss scored, and it was now 9-2. Later, Fayetteville had the bases loaded when Carlos Cauro worked a four-pitch walk. Hector Salas scored, and it was 9-3. With two outs, a lineout by Josh Wakefield ended the inning.
Fayetteville would go on to lose the series finale by the final score of 9-3. They finished game two with seven hits, committed one error, went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. The loss went to Fayetteville starter Aubrey Smith (1-2), and the win went to Fredericksburg pitcher Julian Tonghini (3-0).
The Woodpeckers will be on the road starting on Tuesday against the Hill City Howlers at 6:30 pm on the MLB App.
