The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (33-33, 1-0) started the second half of the season against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (33-34, 0-1) in game four on Friday night from Segra Stadium. Javier Perez was on the mound for Fayetteville against Truman Pauley of Kannapolis.
At the top of the first inning, Kannapolis had runners on the corners with one out when Stiven Flores hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Matthew Boughton to put the Cannon Ballers up 1-0. With the bases loaded, Kannapolis third baseman Alexander Albertus hit a two-run single to left field, scoring Stiven Flores and Nick McLain for a 3-0 lead. Albertus advanced to second base after the ball deflected off third baseman Camilo Diaz. With two outs, Perez struck out Jurdrick Profar to end the inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, Fayetteville shortstop Xavier Neyens and center fielder Kevin Alverez hit back-to-back singles. First baseman Carlos Cauro worked a four-pitch walk, which loaded the bases for Waner Luciano. Luciano grounded into a forceout at second base.
Neyens scored, and the Woodpeckers trailed the Cannon Ballers 3-1. Kenni Gomez followed by grounding into a forceout at second base, scoring Alverez, and it was now 3-2. Carlo Cauro was caught stealing home plate, and the inning was over.
At the top of the second inning, Kannapolis had a runner on third base when Matthew Boughton hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Jaden Fauske, and it was now 4-2. With two outs, Boughton was caught stealing second base, and the inning was over.
Moving to the top of the fourth inning with two outs, Kannapolis center fielder Nathan Archer hit a solo home run to right-center field for a 5-2 lead. It was his second home run of the season. A groundout by Jaden Fauske ended the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Kannapolis had runners on second and third base when Stiven Flores hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Matthew Boughton, and Derek Cerda went to third base. Kannapolis led 6-2.
That would be it for Javier Perez. He was replaced by Leomar Rosario. Nick McLain hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Cerda for a 7-2 lead. McLain would steal second base a short time later. With two outs, Jurdrick Profar popped out to second base, and the inning was over. Rosario allowed a hit and a walk, throwing 20 pitches, of which 10 were strikes.
Grayson Saunier pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the sixth inning. Kannapolis had the bases loaded when Stiven Flores grounded out to shortstop Xavier Neyens. Jaden Fauske scored for an 8-2 lead. With two outs, Saunier struck out Nick McLain to end the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on first base when Kevin Alvarez hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Xavier Neyens, and the Woodpeckers trailed the Cannon Ballers 8-3. With two outs, Kevin Alvarez was picked off at third base, and the inning was over.
At the top of the seventh inning with two outs, Grayson Saunier was replaced by Charlie Weber. Saunier went 1.2 innings, allowing a hit, a run, a walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 32 pitches, of which 19 were strikes. Weber struck out Jurdrick Profar to end the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Fayetteville had runners on first and second base when German Ramirez hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Kenni Gomez. The Woodpeckers cut the deficit to 8-4. Catcher Yosweld Vasquez hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Camilo Diaz. It was now 8-5.
After a pitching change, Fayetteville right fielder Anthony Huezo hit a two-run home run to right field. The Woodpeckers trailed the Cannon Ballers 8-7. It was his 13th home run of the season. With two outs, Carlos Cauro struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Fayetteville designated hitter Waner Luciano hit a solo home run to left-center field, tying the game 8-8. It was his first home run of the season. Kenni Gomez hit a single to right field before Kannapolis changed pitchers.
With two outs, Fayetteville catcher Yosweld Vasquez hit a two-run home run to left-center field to give the Woodpeckers a 10-8 lead. It was his first home run of the season. A flyout by Anthony Huezo ended the inning.
Fayetteville pitcher Charlie Weber walked Nick McLain before striking out the side to end the game. The Woodpeckers scored eight unanswered runs in a comeback win over the Cannon Ballers by the final score of 10-8.
Fayetteville finished the night with nine hits, went 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and left three men on base. Catcher Yosweld Vasquez went 1 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Charlie Weber (3-1), and the loss went to Kannapolis pitcher Landen Payne (1-1).
The Woodpeckers and Cannon Ballers play game five on Saturday at 7:05 pm on the MLB App. Jesus Carrera (0-1, 5.40 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Gabriel Rodriguez (2-0, 3.41 ERA) of Kannapolis.
