The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (39-38, 7-5) took on the Hill City Howlers (33-45, 2-10) in game three on Thursday night at City Stadium. Nick Potter was on the mound for Fayetteville against Erigaldi Perez of Hill City.
The game was scoreless in the first two and a half innings. In the bottom of the third inning, Hill City had runners on second and third base when Yaikel Mijares hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Yerlin Luis for a 1-0 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Riley Nelson ended the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the fourth inning, Hill City had the bases loaded when Jhorvic Abreus hit a two-run RBI single to right field, scoring Cannon Peebles and Luis De La Cruz for a 3-0 lead. After that, Nick Potter was replaced by Ryan Mathiesen.
With two outs, a groundout by Dauri Fernandez ended the inning. Nick Potter went 3.2 innings, allowing four hits, three runs, three walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 74 pitches, of which 32 were strikes. Mathiesen walked one, throwing five pitches, of which two were strikes.
At the top of the fifth inning, Fayetteville third baseman Waner Luciano hit a solo home run to left field, cutting the deficit to 3-1. It was his second home run of the season. Hector Salas, Yosweld Vasquez, and Anthony Huezo worked four-pitch walks, which loaded the bases for Josh Wakefield. Wakefield worked a four-pitch walk, scoring Salas, and it was now 3-2.
Designated hitter Kevin Alvarez cleared the bases with a grand slam to right field, giving the Woodpeckers a 6-3 lead. It was his seventh home run of the season. With two outs, a groundout by Carlos Cauro ended the inning.
Adam Shoemaker pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the fifth inning. He struck out one, throwing 10 pitches, of which eight were strikes, to get three outs. At the top of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on third base when Hector Salas hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Brandon Nigh for a 7-3 lead.
Two batters later, Yosweld Vasquez hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Waner Luciano for an 8-3 lead. Then, Josh Wakefield hit a two-run RBI single to center field, scoring Hector Salas and Yosweld Vasquez for a 10-3 lead. A groundout by Kevin Alvarez ended the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Hill City had a runner on third base when Shoemaker was called for a balk, scoring Jose Pirela, and it was now 10-4. Dauri Fernandez followed up by hitting an RBI double to left field, scoring Jhorvic Abreus. Yaikel Mijares tried to reach third base, but was called out, and the inning was over.
At the top of the seventh inning, Fayetteville had a runner on third base when Waner Luciano hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Carlos Cauro for an 11-5 lead. With two outs, Hector Salas struck out swinging to conclude the inning.
Fayetteville pitcher Adam Shoemaker went four innings, allowing two hits, two runs, four walks, and four strikeouts, throwing 69 pitches, of which 36 were strikes. Brandon Cassedy pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the ninth inning. Cassedy threw seven pitches, of which four were strikes, to get the final three outs of the game. The Woodpeckers beat the Howlers 11-5.
Fayetteville finished the night with seven runs, committed one error, went 5 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Waner Luciano went 3 for 4 with a home run, a walk, a double, and three RBIs, while Kevin Alvarez went 1 for 4 with a home run, a walk, and four RBIs. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Ryan Mathiesen (6-0), and the loss went to Hill City Angel Perez (4-3).
The Woodpeckers and Howlers play game four on Friday at 6:30 pm on the MLB App. Fayetteville have yet to name a starter, while Ryan DeSanto (2-1, 3.24 ERA) will be on the mound for Hill City.
