The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (23-28) concluded the six-game series on Sunday afternoon against the Hill City Howlers (25-26) at City Stadium. Aubrey Smith was on the mound for Fayetteville against Will McCausland of Hill City.
At the top of the first inning, Fayetteville had a runner on first base when Kevin Alvarez hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Xavier Neyens for a 1-0 lead. With two outs, Nehomar Ochoa Jr. struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the first inning, Hill City had a runner on second base when Tyler Howard hit a single to second baseman Camilo Diaz. A throwing error by Diaz allowed Jose Pirela to score, and the game was tied 1-1. With two outs, a flyout by Yeiferth Castillo ended the inning.
At the top of the second inning, Fayetteville shortstop German Ramriez hit a solo home run to center field to give the Woodpeckers a 2-1 lead. It was his first home run of the season. With two outs, D.J. Newman struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Moving to the bottom of the seventh inning, Hill City had a runner on second base when Yeiferth Castillo hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Tyler Howard, and the game was tied 2-2. Castillo tried to run to second base, but was caught. With two outs, a lineout by Johan Rodriguez ended the inning. Fayetteville starter Aubrey Smith went seven innings, allowing seven hits and two runs, throwing 69 pitches, of which 43 were strikes.
Ryan Mathiesen pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the eighth inning. He allowed one walk and struck out one, throwing 14 pitches, of which seven were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on third base when German Ramirez grounded out to shortstop Johan Rodriguez. Juan Sierra scored for a 3-2 lead. With two outs, a flyout by Camilo Diaz ended the inning.
Mathiesen pitched the bottom of the ninth inning. He put two runners on base with two outs. A groundout by Victor Izturis that ended the game. Mathiesen allowed three walks and struck out two, throwing 38 pitches, of which 18 were strikes, to get the final six outs of the game. The Woodpeckers held on to defeat the Howlers 3-2. The Woodpeckers take four of six games from Hill City.
Fayetteville finished the afternoon with six hits, committed two errors, went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and left four men on base. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Ryan Mathiesen (2-0), and the loss went to Hill City pitcher Keegan Zinn (2-3).
The Woodpeckers return to Segra Stadium on Tuesday to begin a six-game homestand against the Columbia Fireflies at 6:05 pm on the MLB App.
