The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (52-50, 20-17) took on the Salem RidgeYaks (45-58, 20-18) in game two on Wednesday night at Carilion Clinic Field. Ryan Forcucci was on the mound for Fayetteville against Christian Foutch of Salem.
At the top of the first inning, Fayetteville had runners on second and third base when Christian Foutch threw a wild pitch, scoring Waner Luciano, and the Woodpeckers took a 1-0 lead. Right fielder Juan Sierra hit an RBI single to shortstop, scoring Josh Wakefield for a 2-0 lead. With two outs, Arturo Flores struck out swinging.
In the bottom of the first inning, Salem had a runner on first base when Franklin Primera hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Starlyn Nunez. It was now 2-1. Forcucci loaded the bases with one out when he walked Andrews Opata, scoring Franklin Primera. The game was tied 2-2.
With two outs, Avinson Pinto cleared the bases with a grand slam to right field to give the RidgeYaks a 6-2 lead. It was his fifth home run of the season. Ryan Forcucci was replaced by Brandon Cassedy. Forcucci allowed two hits, six runs, two walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 36 pitches, of which 15 were strikes. A groundout by Ilan Fernandez ended the inning.
Brandon Cassedy went 3.1 innings, allowing three hits and one strikeout, throwing 44 pitches, of which 28 were strikes. Ryan Verdugo was the new pitcher for Fayetteville in the bottom of the fifth inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning with one out, Salem had the bases loaded when Ilan Fernandez hit a two-run RBI single to center field, scoring Louis Andujar and Adonys Guzman for an 8-2 lead.
Starlyn Nunez followed up by hitting an RBI double off the wall at right field, scoring Avinson Pinto for a 9-2 lead. Verdugo reloaded the bases when he hit Franklin Primera. A sacrifice fly by Kleyver Salazar scored Ilan Fernandez for a 10-2 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Skylar King ended the inning. Ryan Verdugo went four innings, allowing four hits, four runs, two walks, and four strikeouts, throwing 50 pitches, of which 32 were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning, Fayetteville had runners on first and second base with one out when Arturo Flores hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Juan Sierra. It was now 10-3.
The Woodpeckers were clobbered by the RidgeYaks 10-3. Fayetteville finished the night with five hits, committed two errors, went 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. The loss went to Fayetteville starter Ryan Forcucci (0-4) and the win went to Salem pitcher Caden Vire (1-0).
The Woodpeckers and RidgeYaks play game three on Thursday at 6:35 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Fayetteville has yet to name a starter, while Christian Foutch (0-5, 6.08 ERA) will be on the mound for Salem.
