The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (34-35, 2-2) continued their homestand on Tuesday night at Segra Stadium against the Delmarva Shorebirds (25-45, 2-2). Jagger Beck was on the mound for Fayetteville against Stephen Still of Delmarva.
In the bottom of the first inning, Fayetteville had a runner on third base when Xavier Neyens reached first base on a fielding error by third baseman Joshua Liranzo. Anthony Huezo scored for a 1-0 lead. Kevin Alvarez was up next. Neyens stole second base before Alvarez worked a four-pitch walk. Catcher Arturo Flores hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Neyens for a 2-0 lead.
With the bases loaded and one out, first baseman Carlos Cauro hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Alvarez for a 3-0 lead. Kenni Gomez tried to score but was called out at home plate. A lineout by Hector Salas ended the inning.
Fayetteville starter Jagger Beck pitched three innings, allowing a hit, four walks, and four strikeouts, throwing 65 pitches, of which 32 were strikes. Juan Fraide pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the fourth inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded when Arturo Flores grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, scoring Anthony Huezo for a 4-0 lead. A lineout by Waner Luciano ended the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Fayetteville left fielder Anthony Huezo, third baseman Xavier Neyens, and center fielder Kevin Alvarez hit back-to-back-to-back home runs for a 7-0 lead. It was Huezo’s 14th home run of the season, Neyens’s 10th home run of the season, and Alvarez’s sixth home run of the season. Later, Fayetteville had the bases loaded when Hector Salas hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Arturo Flores for an 8-0 lead. With two outs, a pop-out by German Ramirez ended the inning.
At the top of the seventh inning, Delmarva had runners on first and second base when Braylon Whitaker grounded into a forceout at second base. A throwing error by shortstop German Ramirez allowed Miguel Rodríguez to score. The Shorebirds trailed the Woodpeckers 8-1.
Juan Fraide went four innings, allowing a hit, a run, a walk, and struck out six, throwing 52 pitches, of which 32 were strikes. Grayson Saunier pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the eighth inning.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded when Hector Salas grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, scoring Kenni Gomez for a 9-1 lead. A groundout by German Ramirez ended the inning.
Grayson Saunier went two innings, allowing a walk, and struck out three, throwing 34 pitches, of which 19 were strikes, to get the final three outs of the game. The Woodpeckers defeated the Shorebirds 9-1.
Fayetteville finished the night with 11 hits, committed four errors, went 3 for 17 with runners in scoring position, and left 12 men on base. Anthony Huezo went 2 for 2 with a home run, a double, two walks, a hit by a pitch, and an RBI. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Juan Fraide (2-1), and the loss went to Delmarva starter Stephen Still (0-2).
The Woodpeckers and Shorebirds play game two on Wednesday at 6:35 pm on the MLB App. Nick Potter (0-1, 1.89 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Christian Rodriguez (3-3, 3.43 ERA) of Delmarva.
