The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (42-42, 10-9) played the Wilson Warbirds (46-29, 10-9) in game four on Thursday night at Wilson Ballpark. Javier Perez was on the mound for Fayetteville against Joey Broughton of Wilson.
At the top of the second inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded when Reylin Perez reached first base on a fielding error by first baseman Frederi Montero. Arturo Flores scored for a 1-0 lead. Kenni Gomez grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, scoring Josh Wakefield for a 2-0 lead. German Ramirez followed up by hitting an RBI double to left field, scoring Carlos Cauro for a 3-0 lead. A groundout by Anthony Huezo ended the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded when Carlos Cauro cleared them with a three-run RBI double to right field, scoring Kevin Alvarez, Arturo Flores, and Josh Wakefield for a 6-0 lead. With two outs, a flyout by German Ramirez ended the inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, Wilson had the bases loaded when Handelfry Encarnacion hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Frederi Montero. The Woodpeckers led the Warbirds 6-1. With two outs, Javier Perez struck out Juan Martinez to end the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on first base when Xavier Neyens hit an RBI triple to right field, scoring Anthony Huezo for a 7-1 lead. A wild pitch by Jarrette Bonet scored Neyens for an 8-1 lead. With two outs, Carlos Cauro struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Wilson right fielder Jose Anderson hit a solo home run to left field, cutting Fayetteville’s lead to 8-2. It was his 19th home run of the season. With two outs, a flyout by Filippo Di Turi ended the inning. Fayetteville starter Javier Perez went four innings, allowing three hits, two runs, three walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 71 pitches, of which 48 were strikes.
Rafael Gonzalez pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the fifth inning. With runners on the corners, Alexander Frias hit an RBI single to shortstop German Ramirez, scoring Handelfry Encarnacion, and it was now 8-3. Juan Martinez followed up by hitting an RBI single to center field, scoring Brady Ebel, and it was now 8-4. With two outs, Pedro Ibarguen popped out to second baseman Reylin Perez, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the sixth inning with one out and the bases loaded, Rafael Gonzalez walked Brady Ebel, scoring Rylan Mills. It was now 8-5. Alexander Frias followed up by hitting a two-run RBI single to right field, scoring Filippo Di Turi and Handelfry Encarnacion, and it was now 8-7.
Juan Martinez reached first base on a fielding error by first baseman Arturo Flores and a throwing error by Reylin Perez, scoring Brady Ebel and Alexander Frias, giving the Warbirds a 9-8 lead. A sacrifice fly by Pedro Ibarguen scored Juan Martinez for a 10-8 lead. With two outs, Gonzalez struck out Frederi Montero to end the inning. Gonzalez went two innings, allowing six hits, eight runs, four walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 61 pitches, of which 33 were strikes.
Brandon Cassedy pitched for Fayetteville at the bottom of the seventh inning. Cassedy struck out one, throwing eight pitches, of which five were strikes. Grayson Saunier pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the eighth inning.
At the top of the ninth inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded when German Ramirez hit a two-run RBI single to left field, scoring Carlos Cauro and Reylin Perez, tying the game 10-10 with one out. Anthony Huezo grounded into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Jose Anderson hit a game-winning home run to left field. It was his 20th home run of the season. The Woodpeckers lost to the Warbirds 11-10. Saunier allowed a hit and a run, throwing 10 pitches, of which 10 were strikes.
Fayetteville finished the night with nine hits, committed two errors, went 4 for 19 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. Carlos Cauro went 2 for 4 with a walk, a double, and three RBIs. The loss went to Fayetteville pitcher Grayson Saunier (0-2), and the win went to Wilson pitcher Ismael Yanez (2-0).
The Woodpeckers and Warbirds play game five on Saturday at 7:05 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Fayetteville have yet to name a starter, while Hayden Robinson (1-4, 6.51 ERA) will be on the mound for Wilson.
