The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (31-33) played game two on Wednesday night against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (33-32) from Segra Stadium. Nick Potter was on the mound for Fayetteville against Gabe Tanner of Kannapolis.
Fayetteville starter Nick Potter pitched five scoreless innings. He allowed two hits, one walk, and four strikeouts, throwing 62 pitches, of which 42 were strikes. Jose Varela pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the sixth inning. Kannapolis had runners on second and third base when Derek Cerda hit a two-run RBI single to center field, scoring Jaden Fauske and Matthew Boughton for a 2-0 lead.
With one out, Kannapolis had the bases loaded when Varela walked Adrian Gil, scoring Derek Cerda for a 3-0 lead. Fayetteville made a pitching change with Ryan Verdugo replacing Varela. With two outs, Verdugo walked Efren Teran, scoring Nathan Archer for a 4-0 lead. Verdugo struck out Jaden Fauske to end the inning. Jose Varela allowed two hits, four runs, four walks, and one strikeout, throwing 34 pitches, of which 14 were strikes.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on third base when a wild pitch by Kannapolis pitcher Choyce Diffey allowed Anthony Huezo to score. The Woodpeckers trailed the Cannan Ballers 4-1. With two outs, a groundout by Arturo Flores ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the eighth inning, Kannapolis had a runner on first base when Erasmi Rodriguez hit a two-run home run to right-center field, extending their lead to 6-1. It was his first home run of the season. Kannapolis had a runner on second base when Matthew Boughton hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Efren Teran for a 7-1 lead with one out. With two outs, a flyout by Nathan Archer ended the inning.
At the top of the ninth inning with one out, Kannapolis first baseman Adrian Gil hit a solo home run to left field for an 8-1 lead. It was his third home run of the season. With two outs, Verdugo was replaced by Leomar Rosario. Rosario struck out Jaden Fauske to end the inning. Ryan Verdugo went 3.1 innings, allowing five hits, four runs, five walks, and five strikeouts, throwing 82 pitches, of which 42 were strikes. Rosario threw six pitches, of which three were strikes.
Fayetteville would see its six-game winning streak come to an end with an 8-1 loss to Kannapolis. Fayetteville finished the night with two hits, committed one error, went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base. The loss went to Fayetteville pitcher Jose Varela (1-3), and the win went to Kannapolis pitcher Choyce Diffey (1-1).
The Woodpeckers and Cannan Ballers play game three at 6:35 pm on the MLB App. Adam Shoemaker (0-0, 6.75 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Alexander Martinez (1-3, 6.30 ERA) of Kannapolis.
