The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (51-48, 19-15) played the Hill City Howlers (43-58, 12-23) in game five on Saturday night at Segra Stadium. Javier Perez was on the mound for Fayetteville against Ryan DeSanto of Hill City.
At the top of the first inning, Hill City had the bases loaded when third baseman Luis De La Cruz reached first base on a catcher’s interference by Luis De Leon, scoring Dauri Fernandez to put the Howlers up 1-0. Reiner Herrera followed up by hitting a two-run RBI single to right field, scoring Gabriel Rodriguez and Riley Nelson for a 3-0 lead.
Then, Jonathan Martinez hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Luis De La Cruz for a 4-0 lead. With two outs, Perez struck out Jose Pirela to end the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Fayetteville had runners on first and second base with two outs when Camilo Diaz hit a two-run RBI single to center field, scoring Luis De Leon and Brandon Nigh. The Woodpeckers trailed the Howlers 4-2. Hector Salas struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
At the top of the fourth inning, Hill City had runners on first and second base with nobody out when Jose Pirela hit a two-run RBI double to left field, scoring Reiner Herrera and Jonathan Martinez for a 6-2 lead. With two outs, Dauri Fernandez hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Pirela for a 7-2 lead. Gabriel Rodriguez followed up by hitting an RBI double to left field, scoring Fernandez for an 8-2 lead. A groundout by Riley Nelson ended the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Hill City had a runner on third base with nobody out when Reiner Herrera hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Luis De La Cruz for a 9-2 lead. Fayetteville starter Javier Perez went 4.1 innings, allowing eight hits, nine runs, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 83 pitches, of which 56 were strikes. Jesus Carrera replaced Perez at the top of the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded when center fielder Kevin Alvarez grounded into a forceout at second base. A throwing error by shortstop Dauri Fernandez allowed Hector Salas and Josh Wakefield to score. It was now 9-4. Luis De Leon followed up by hitting an RBI single to right field, scoring Kevin Alvarez, and it was now 9-5. With two outs, Camilo Diaz struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
At the top of the sixth inning, Hill City had a runner on third base with two outs when Gabriel Rodriguez hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Alejandro Blasco for a 10-5 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Luis De La Cruz ended the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on second base with one out when Waner Luciano hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Josh Wakefield. It was now 10-6. With two outs, Arturo Flores struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Moving to the bottom of the seventh inning, Fayetteville had a runner on first base with one out when Brandon Nigh hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Juan Sierra, and it was now 10-7. With two outs, Fayetteville had runners on second and third base with two outs when Josh Wakefield grounded out to second base for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on second base with two outs when Juan Sierra hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Kevin Alvarez. It was now 10-8. With two outs, Luis De Leon popped out to second base, and the inning was over.
Fayetteville pitcher Jesus Carrera went 4.2 innings, allowing three hits, one run, and two walks, throwing 62 pitches, of which 36 were strikes. The Woodpeckers lost to the Howlers 10-8, ending a five-game winning streak.
Fayetteville finished the night with 12 hits, committed two errors, went 4 for 11 with runners in scoring position, and left 11 men on base. Juan Sierra went 3 for 4 with a walk. The loss went to Fayetteville starter Javier Perez (6-5), while the win went to Hill City Austin Testerman (1-0), and Conner Whittaker earned his second save of the season.
The Woodpeckers conclude the six-game homestand against the Howlers on Sunday at 5:05 pm on The MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Charlie Weber (4-1, 3.14 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Erigaldi Perez (4-4, 5.51 ERA) of Hill City.
