The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (22-28) played game five on Saturday night against the Hill City Howlers (25-25) at City Stadium. Jesus Carrera was on the mound for Fayetteville against Chase Mobley of Hill City.
In the bottom of the first inning, Hill City had a runner on second base when Yeiferth Castillo hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Cannon Peebles for a 1-0 lead. Luis De La Cruz followed up by hitting an RBI double to right field, scoring Castillo for a 2-0 lead. With two outs, Carrera struck out Johan Rodriguez to retire the side.
Moving to the top of the third inning, Fayetteville right fielder Juan Sierra and left fielder D.J. Newman hit singles. A balk was called on Hill City pitcher Chase Mobley, moving both runners up a base. With one out, Anthony Huezo hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Sierra, and the Woodpeckers cut the deficit to 2-1. A groundout by Xavier Neyens ended the inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, Hill City had a runner on first base when Cannon Peebles hit an RBI double to left field. Jose Pirela scored for a 3-1 lead. Yeiferth Castillo followed up by hitting an RBI double to right field, scoring Peebles for a 4-1 lead. After a mound visit, Luis De La Cruz hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Castillo for a 5-1 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Yaikel Mijares ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the fifth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on second base when D.J. Newman hit a two-run home run to left field. The Woodpeckers trailed the Howlers 5-3. It was Newman’s second home run of the season.
Two batters later, Anthony Huezo hit a solo home run to right field, and it was now 5-4. It was Huezo’s seventh home run of the season. With two outs, Xavier Neyens struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Jesus Carrera pitched four innings, allowing seven hits, five runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts, throwing 83 pitches, of which 53 were strikes. Cole MacRae pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the fifth inning.
At the top of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had runners on second and third base when Hector Salas hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Kevin Alvarez, and the game was tied 5-5. Juan Sierra followed up by hitting an RBI single to second base, scoring Walker Janek to give the Woodpeckers a 6-5 lead.
At the top of the seventh inning, Fayetteville had runners on second and third base when Kevin Alvarez hit an RBI single to center field. German Ramirez scored for a 7-5 lead. Walker Janek followed up by hitting an RBI double to center field, scoring Anthony Huezo for an 8-5 lead.
Two batters later, Hector Salas hit a two-run RBI double to right field, scoring Kevin Alvarez and Yosweld Vasquez for a 10-5 lead. Juan Sierra followed up by hitting a two-run RBI double to left field, scoring Nehomar Ochoa Jr. and Hector Salas for a 12-5 lead.
A throwing error by pitcher Eudry Alcantara scored Juan Seirra for a 13-5 lead. Anthony Huezo followed up by hitting an RBI triple to center field, scoring German Ramirez for a 14-5 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Xavier Neyens ended the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Hill City had the bases loaded when Luis De La Cruz reached first base on a fielding error by Juan Sierra. Juneiker Caceres scored, and it was now 14-6. With two outs, a pop-out by Victor Izturis to shortstop Xavier Neyens ended the inning.
At the top of the eighth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on third base when Nehomar Ochoa Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Kevin Alvarez for a 15-6 lead. Hector Salas worked a four-pitch walk before Juan Sierra hit a two-run home run to left field for a 17-6 lead. It was his sixth home run of the season. Fayetteville had two more runners on base with two outs, but a groundout from Anthony Huezo ended the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Hill City had a runner on third base when Juneiker Caceres grounded out to first baseman Nehomar Ochoa Jr. Yerlin Luis scored, and it was now 17-7.
Cole MacRae pitched four innings, allowing three hits, two runs, four walks, and one strikeout, throwing 72 pitches, of which 41 were strikes. Brandon Cassedy pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the ninth inning. Cassedy allowed a hit and struck out one, throwing 11 pitches, of which 10 were strikes, to get the final three outs of the game. The Woodpeckers clobbered the Howlers 17-7.
Fayetteville finished the night with 22 hits, committed one error, went 8 for 21 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Juan Sierra went 4 for 5 with a home run, a double, and five RBIs, while Anthony Huezo went 3 for 4 with a walk, a stolen base, a home run, a triple, and three RBIs. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Cole MacRae (2-2), and the loss went to Hill City pitcher Aaron Savary (0-2).
The Woodpeckers and the Howlers wrap up the six-game series on Sunday at 2 pm on The MLB App. Fayetteville has yet to name a starter, while Will McCausland (1-1, 5.04 ERA) will be on the mound for Hill City.
