The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (33-34, 1-1) played game five on Saturday night against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (34-34, 1-1) from Segra Stadium. Jesus Carrera was on the mound for Fayetteville against Gabriel Rodriguez of Kannapolis.
At the top of the first inning, Kannapolis designated hitter Jaden Fauske hit a solo home run to center field to put the Cannon Ballers up 1-0. It was his third home run of the season. With two outs, Alexander Albertus was caught stealing second base, and the inning was over.
Kannapolis blew the game open at the top of the third inning. They had runners on second and third base when Stiven Flores hit a two-run single to center field, scoring Efren Teran and Matthew Boughton for a 3-0 lead. With two outs, Jurdrick Profar hit a two-run single to center field, scoring Stiven Flores and Alexander Albertus for a 5-0 lead. A pop-out by Nathan Archer ended the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, Kannapolis had runners on first and second base when Derek Cerda hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Efren Teran for a 6-0 lead. With two outs, a lineout by Stiven Flores ended the inning.
Fayetteville starter Jesus Carrera went five innings, allowing nine hits, six runs, one walk, and four strikeouts, throwing 87 pitches, of which 54 were strikes. Rafael Gonzalez pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the seventh inning. Kannapolis had a runner on second base when Nathan Archer reached first base on a fielding error by first baseman Arturo Flores. Alexander Albertus scored for a 7-0 lead. With two outs, Gonzalez struck out Leandro Alsinois to end the inning.
At the top of the eighth inning, Kannapolis had a runner on third base when Matthew Boughton hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Efren Teran for an 8-0 lead. With one out, Derek Cerda grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Fayetteville pitcher Rafael Gonzalez put two runners on base before he was replaced by position player Carlos Cauro. With one out, Nathan Archer hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Stiven Flores for a 9-0 lead. With the bases loaded, Efren Teran grounded out to shortstop, scoring Alexander Albertus for a 10-0 lead. With two outs, a flyout by Jaden Fauske ended the inning.
Rafael Gonzalez went three innings, allowing one hit, four runs, six walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 62 pitches, of which 26 were strikes. Fayetteville would be shut out by the Cannan Ballers 10-0. The Woodpeckers finished the night with five hits, committed one error, went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base.
The loss went to Fayetteville starter Jesus Carrera (0-2), and the win went to Kannapolis pitcher Blaine Wynk (2-3). The Woodpeckers can win the series against the Cannon Ballers on Sunday at 5:05 pm on the MLB App. Aubrey Smith (1-4, 6.50 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Caedmon Parker (2-4, 4.13 ERA) of Kannapolis.
