The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (27-32) played game two on Wednesday night from Carilion Clinic Field against the Salem RidgeYaks (24-35). Nick Potter was on the mound for Fayetteville against Barrett Morgan of Salem.
The game was scoreless for two and a half innings. In the bottom of the third inning, Salem first baseman D’Angelo Ortiz hit a solo home run to left field to give the RidgeYaks a 1-0 lead. It was his first home run of the season. Salem would get another runner on base, but with two outs, a groundout by Skylar King ended the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, Xavier Neyens hit a single, and Kevin Alvarez hit into a fielder’s choice. Fayetteville second baseman Waner Luciano hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Neyens to tie the game 1-1. Kevin Alvarez stole third base, and Luciano stole second base before Arturo Flores hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Alvarez for a 2-1 lead. A groundout by Kenni Gomez scored Luciano for a 3-1 lead. With two outs, a groundout by German Ramirez ended the inning.
Fayetteville starter Nick Potter pitched five innings, allowing two hits, one run, and three strikeouts, throwing 49 pitches, of which 35 were strikes. Ryan Verdugo pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Salem had runners on first and second base when Skylar King hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Anderson Fermin, and the RidgeYaks cut the deficit to 3-2. With the bases loaded, Kleyver Salazar hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Givian Sirvania, and the game was tied 3-3. With two outs, Andrews Opata stole second base, and a throwing error by catcher Yosweld Vasquez allowed Skylar King to score to give the RidgeYaks a 4-3 lead. Verdugo struck out Louis Andujar to retire the side.
At the top of the seventh inning, Fayetteville right fielder Kevin Alvarez hit a single to pitcher Jay Allmir. A pickoff error by Allmir allowed Alvarez to run to third base. Designated hitter Camilo Diaz hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Alvarez to tie the game 4-4.
With two outs, Fayetteville had runners on first and second base when Xavier Neyens hit a two-run RBI double to left field, scoring Yosweld Vasquez and Anthony Huezo for a 6-4 lead. A flyout by Waner Luciano ended the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the ninth inning, Ryan Verdugo put runners on second and third base with nobody out. Verdugo caught Louis Andujar’s ball and threw to second base to get the double play. Avinson Pinto hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Kleyver Salazar, and it was now 6-5. Verdugo walked D’Angelo Ortiz before Anderson Fermin grounded into a forceout at second base for the final out of the game. Verdugo went four innings, allowing five hits, four runs, four walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 73 pitches, of which 40 were strikes.
The Woodpeckers held on to beat the RidgeYaks 6-5 for their second straight win. Fayetteville finished the night with seven hits, committed two errors, went 3 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and left four men on base. Xavier Neyens went 2 for 3 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Ryan Verdugo (3-3), and the loss went to Salem pitcher Jay Allmer.
The Woodpeckers and RidgeYaks play game three on Thursday at 6:35 pm on the MLB App. Fayetteville have yet to name a pitcher, while Leighton Finley (3-1, 3.32 ERA) will be on the mound for Salem.
