The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (35-35, 3-2) played game two on Wednesday night at Segra Stadium against the Delmarva Shorebirds (25-46, 2-3). Nick Potter was on the mound for Fayetteville against Christian Rodriguez of Delmarva.
Fayetteville starter Nick Potter pitched three scoreless innings, allowing three hits, three walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 69 pitches, of which 42 were strikes. Ryan Verdugo pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the fourth inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Delmarva had a runner on second base with two outs when Jaiden Lo Re hit an RBI single to left field. Braylon Whitaker scored, and Lo Re was out between first and second base for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Fayetteville left fielder Anthony Huezo hit a single to right field with one out. He later stole second base. Third baseman Xavier Neyens hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Huezo, and the game was tied 1-1. Kevin Alvarez followed up by hitting an RBI single to center field, scoring Neyens for a 2-1 lead. Josh Wakefield grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Fayetteville’s lead would not last long at the top of the seventh inning when Delmarva right fielder Raylin Ramos hit a solo home run to left field, tying the game 2-2. It was his fourth home run of the season.
With two outs, a groundout by Jordan Sanchez ended the inning. Ryan Verdugo went five innings, allowing four hits, two runs, one walk, and six strikeouts, throwing 83 pitches, of which 53 were strikes.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Camilo Diaz hit a single, followed by Anthony Huezo grounding into a forceout at second base. Xavier Neyens and Kevin Alvarez worked four-pitch walks, and the bases were loaded. Delmarva pitcher Kenny Leiner threw two wild pitches, scoring Huezo and Neyens to give the Woodpeckers a 4-2 lead.
Josh Wakefield hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Alvarez for a 5-2 lead. After a pitching, Fayetteville first baseman Carlos Cauro hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Wakefield for a 6-2 lead. Kenni Gomez struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Brandon Cassedy pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the ninth inning. Cassedy struck out one, throwing 12 pitches, of which seven were strikes, to get the final three outs of the game. The Woodpeckers defeated the Shorebirds 6-2 for their second straight win.
Fayetteville finished the night with 10 hits, committed three errors, went 4 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base. Xavier Neyens went 1 for 2 with a double, two walks, and an RBI, while Anthony Huezo went 2 for 4 with a double and two stolen bases. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Ryan Verdugo (4-3), and the loss went to Delmarva Kenny Leiner (1-1).
The Woodpeckers and Shorebirds play game three on Thursday at 6:35 pm on the MLB App. Adam Shoemaker (0-0, 4.91 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Esteban Mejia (0-4, 8.17 ERA) of Delmarva.
