The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (30-32) concluded the five-game series at Carilion Clinic Field on Sunday evening against the Salem RidgeYaks (24-38). Rafael Gonzalez was on the mound for Fayetteville against Cole Tolbert of Salem.
In the bottom of the first inning, Salem had runners on second and third base when a balk was called on Fayetteville pitcher Rafael Gonzalez. The RidgeYaks took a 1-0 lead. Kleyver Salazar hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Andrews Opata for a 2-0 lead. With two outs, Gonzalez struck out Skylar King to end the inning.
At the top of the second inning, Fayetteville catcher Arturo Flores hit a solo home run to left-center field, cutting Salem’s lead to 2-1. It was his seventh home run of the season. Hector Salas hit a single to second base. He advanced to second base on a groundout by Camilo Diaz and stole third base.
A throwing error by Salem catcher Adonys Guzman allowed Salas to score, and the game was tied 2-2. Carlos Cauro worked a four-pitch walk. With two outs, German Ramirez struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the second inning, Salem had a runner on first base when Givian Sirvania hit an RBI double to left field. A fielding error by Hector Salas allowed Frederik Jimenez and Sirvania to score for a 4-2 lead. With one out, Kleyver Salazar struck out, and Avinson Pinto was caught stealing third base to end the inning. Rafael Gonzalez went two innings, allowing four hits, four runs, three walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 53 pitches, of which 26 were strikes.
Ryan Mathiesen pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the third inning. He would pitch two innings, with two strikeouts, throwing 26 pitches, of which 20 were strikes. At the top of the fourth inning, Hector Salas worked a four-pitch walk with one out. With two outs, first baseman Carlos Cauro hit a two-run home run to left field, tying the game 4-4. It was his third home run of the season. A groundout by Kenni Gomez ended the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Fayetteville had runners on second and third base when Waner Luciano hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring German Ramirez for a 5-4 lead. Arturo Flores followed up by hitting an RBI single to right field, scoring Anthony Huezo for a 6-4 lead. Hector Salas hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Xavier Neyens for a 7-4 lead. With one out, Camilo grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Leomar Rosario pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rosario struck out one, throwing 10 pitches, of which seven were strikes. At the top of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on first base when German Ramirez hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Kenni Gomez for an 8-4 lead. Anthony Huezo followed up by hitting an RBI double to right field, scoring Ramirez for a 9-4 lead. With one out, Waner Luciano hit into an inning-ending double play.
Aubrey Smith pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the sixth inning. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Salem had runners on second and third base with two outs when Andrews Opata hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Frederik Jimenez. The RidgeYaks trailed the Woodpeckers 9-5.
With the bases loaded, Adonys Guzman grounded into a forceout at second base, and the game was over. The Woodpeckers complete the five-game sweep with a 9-5 win over the RidgeYaks. Smith went four innings, allowing three hits, one run, and four walks, throwing 65 pitches, of which 37 were strikes.
Fayetteville finished the afternoon with 10 hits, committed one error, went 3 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and left four men on base. Hector Salas went 2 for 3 with a walk, a stolen base, and an RBI. Arturo Flores went 2 for 5 with a home run and two RBIs. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Ryan Mathiesen (4-0), Aubrey Smith earned his first save of the season, and the loss went to Salem pitcher Yermain Ruiz (0-2).
The Woodpeckers return to Segra Stadium to begin a 12-game homestand on Tuesday against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers at 6:35 pm on the MLB App.
