The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (53-50, 21-17) played game three on Thursday night against the Salem RidgeYaks (45-59, 20-19) at Carilion Clinic Field. Jagger Beck was on the mound for Fayetteville against Christian Foutch of Salem.
At the top of the first inning, Fayetteville had a runner on third base with one out when Josh Wakefield grounded out to shortstop Henry Godbout, scoring Waner Luciano to put the Woodpeckers ahead 1-0. A groundout by Carlos Cauro ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the third inning, Fayetteville had runners on second and third base with two outs when Josh Wakefield hit a two-run RBI double to left field, scoring Camilo Diaz and Brandon Nigh for a 3-0 lead. Carlos Cauro popped out to first baseman D’Angelo Ortiz for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Salem had runners on second and third base with two outs when Anderson Fermin hit a two-run RBI single to right field, scoring Kleyver Salazar and Adonys Guzman. It was now 3-2. Later, D’Angelo Ortiz tied the game 3-3 with an RBI double to center field, scoring Fermin. Ortiz was caught stealing second base, and the inning was over.
Jagger Beck went four innings, allowing three hits, three runs, three walks, and four strikeouts, throwing 77 pitches, of which 43 were strikes. At the top of the fifth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on third base with one out when Josh Wakefield hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Waner Luciano to put the Woodpeckers ahead 4-3. With two outs, Carlos Cauro struck out swinging.
Ryan Mathiesen pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the fifth inning. He loaded the bases when Skylar King reached first base on a fielding error by second baseman Camilo Diaz, scoring Henry Godbout, and the game was tied 4-4. A flyout by Adonys Guzman ended the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ryan Mathiesen put a runner on first base when he was replaced by John Carver. Carver loaded the bases when he hit Henry Godbout, scoring Anderson Fermin that gave the RidgeYaks a 5-4 lead. Starlyn Nunez hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring D’Angelo Ortiz for a 6-4 lead. With two outs, Kleyver Salazar lined out to left fielder Jayden Fielder for the final out of the inning. Ryan Mathiesen allowed two hits, two runs, and one walk, throwing 35 pitches, of which 22 were strikes. John Carver allowed a hit, a run, and one strikeout, throwing 18 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
At the top of the seventh inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded with two outs when Carlos Cauro was hit by a pitch, scoring Waner Luciano. It was now 6-5. Fayetteville catcher Arturo Flores followed up by hitting a two-run RBI single to center field, scoring Juan Sierra and Josh Wakefield to give the Woodpeckers a 7-6 lead.
Left fielder Jayden Fielder hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Carlos Cauro for an 8-6 lead. Shortstop German Ramirez hit a two-run RBI double to center field, scoring Flores and Fielder for a 10-6 lead. A groundout by Camilo Diaz ended the inning.
Carson Estridge pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the seventh inning. Salem had runners on the corners with one out when Anderson Fermin stole second base, and Skyler King stole home plate. It was now 10-7. With the bases loaded, Givian Sirvania grounded into a forceout at second base. A throwing error by shortstop German Ramirez scored Anderson Fermin and D’Angelo Ortiz. It was now 10-9. A flyout by Starlyn Nunez ended the inning. Carson Estridge allowed a hit, three runs, and two walks, throwing 29 pitches, of which nine were strikes.
Mick Uebelhor pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the eighth inning. He struck out two, throwing 10 pitches, of which seven were strikes, to get three outs. Tazwell Butler pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the ninth inning. He walked one and struck out one, throwing 10 pitches, of which six were strikes, to get the final three outs of the game. The Woodpeckers held on to beat the RidgeYaks 10-9 to end a two-game losing streak.
Fayetteville finished the night with eight hits, committed three errors, went 5 of 12 with runners in scoring position, and left four men on base. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Carson Estridge (1-0), while Tazwell Butler earned his first save of the season, and the loss went to Salem Yander Bonaci (0-1).
The Woodpeckers will look to tie the series against the RidgeYaks on Friday at 6:35 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Fayetteville has not yet named a pitcher, while Sadbiel Delzine (4-1, 2.63 ERA) will be on the mound for Salem.
