The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (32-33) and the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (33-33) played game three on Thursday night from Segra Stadium. Adam Shoemaker was on the mound for Fayetteville against Alexander Martinez of Kannapolis.
At the top of the third inning, Kannapolis shortstop Matthew Boughton hit a solo home run to left field to put the Cannon Ballers up 1-0. It was his third home run of the season. With two outs, Adrian Gil grounded into a forceout at second base, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the third inning, Fayetteville left fielder Anthony Huezo worked a four-pitch walk with one out. Catcher Arturo Flores hit a two-run home run to left field to put the Woodpeckers ahead 2-1. It was his ninth home run of the season. Later, Fayetteville put two more runners on base when Hector Salas reached first base on a fielding error by shortstop Matthew Boughton, scoring Kevin Alvarez for a 3-1 lead.
Fayetteville first baseman Carlos Cauro hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Waner Luciano for a 4-1 lead. With two outs, German Ramirez hit a two-run RBI double to left field, scoring Salas and Cauro for a 6-1 lead.
After a pitching change, Kenni Gomez hit an RBI single to right field, scoring German Ramirez for a 7-1 lead. Alvarez stole second base when Anthony Huezo hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Gomez for an 8-1 lead. Arturo Flores struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
At the top of the fourth inning, Adam Shoemaker put a runner on first base with one out before he was replaced by Jose Serrano. Serrano struck out Leandro Alsinois and Erasmi Rodriguez to end the inning. Adam Shoemaker went 3.1 innings, allowing two hits, one run, three walks, and four strikeouts, throwing 63 pitches, of which 36 were strikes. Serrano struck out two, throwing nine pitches, of which six were strikes.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Fayetteville center fielder Kevin Alvarez hit a single to left field. He later stole second base, but was caught stealing third base. Third baseman Waner Luciano hit a single to third base. He moved to second base on a wild pitch. The wind picked up, and rain soon fell at Segra Stadium, sending the game into a rain delay with two outs.
After a nearly two-hour delay, the game resumed. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded with one out when Waner Luciano hit a sacrifice fly to left field. Kenni Gomez, but Anthony Huezo was out at third base, and the inning was over. The Woodpeckers led the Cannon Ballers 9-1.
At the top of the seventh inning, Fayetteville pitcher Ryan Mathiesen put a runner on base with one out before he was replaced by Brandon Cassedy. Kannapolis had runners on the corners when Derek Cerda reached first base on a fielding error by first baseman Carlos Cauro. Matthew Boughton scored, and the Cannon Ballers trailed the Woodpeckers 9-2. With two outs, Cassedy struck out Jurdrick Profar to end the inning. Ryan Mathiesen went 2.1 innings, allowing one run, two walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 38 pitches, of which 21 were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning, Cassedy put a runner on base with one out before he was replaced by infielder Carlos Cauro as a pitcher. Kannapolis designated hitter Derek Cerda hit a two-run home run to center field. The Cannan Ballers trailed the Woodpeckers 9-5. It was his third home run of the season. With two outs, a flyout by Jurdrick Profar ended the game. The Woodpeckers defeated the Cannon Ballers 9-5.
Fayetteville finished the night with 14 hits, committed two errors, went 8 of 17 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base. Fayetteville first baseman Carlos Cauro went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Ryan Mathiesen (5-0), and the loss went to Kannapolis starter Alexander Martinez (1-4).
The Woodpeckers and Cannon Ballers start the second half season by playing game four on Friday at 7:05 pm on the MLB App. Fayetteville and Kannapolis have yet to name starters.
