The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (46-47, 14-14) took on the Fredericksburg Nationals (60-35, 14-5) in game five on Saturday night at Virginia Credit Union Stadium. Javier Perez was on the mound for Fayetteville against Marlon De La Cruz of Fredericksburg.
At the top of the first inning, Fayetteville had runners on second and third base with two outs when left fielder Juan Sierra hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Kevin Alvarez, while Carlos Cauro was caught at home plate for the final out of the inning. The Woodpeckers took a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first inning with one out, Fredericksburg shortstop Coy James tied the game 1-1 with a solo home run to left field. It was his 14th home run of the season. With two outs, a flyout by Jordan Williams ended the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Nationals took a 2-1 lead when catcher Brady Cerkownyk hit a solo home run to left field. It was his first home run of the season. With one out and a runner on first base, Manuel Cabrera grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
At the top of the third inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded with two outs when Juan Sierra worked a four-pitch walk, scoring Reylin Perez, and the game was tied 2-2. Fayetteville catcher Yosweld Vasquez struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Javier Perez loaded the bases with one out when designated hitter Nick Peoples cleared the bases with a grand slam to left-center field for a 6-2 lead. It was his eighth home run of the season. With two outs, Gavin Fien popped out to Carlos Cauro for the final out of the inning.
Javier Perez went five innings, allowing five hits, six runs, four walks, and six strikeouts, throwing 77 pitches, of which 45 were strikes. At the top of the sixth inning with two outs, Fayetteville third baseman Brandon Nigh hit a solo home run to left field, cutting the deficit to 6-3. It was his first home run of the season. A groundout by Reylin Perez ended the inning.
Jesus Carrera pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the sixth inning. Carrera went three innings, allowing one hit, four walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 49 pitches, of which 22 were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on third base with one out when Reylin Perez hit an RBI single to shortstop Coy James, scoring D.J. Newman, and it was now 6-4. With two outs, Kevin Alvarez worked a four-pitch walk, and the bases were loaded. Carlos Cauro grounded out to shortstop for the final out of the game.
The Woodpeckers lost to the Nationals 6-4. Fayetteville finished the night with seven hits, committed one error, went 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. Juan Sierra went 1 for 3 with a walk and two RBIs. The loss went to Fayetteville starter Javier Perez (6-4), while the win went to Fredericksburg pitcher Merritt Beeker (1-0), and Austin Amaral earned his third save of the season.
The Woodpeckers will go for the series split on Sunday at 1:35 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Fayetteville have yet to name a starter, while Alexander Meckley (3-3, 5.03 ERA) will be on the mound for Fredericksburg.
