The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (57-52, 25-19) battled the Fredericksburg Nationals (68-43, 22-23) in game four on Friday night at Segra Stadium. Jagger Beck was on the mound for Fayetteville against Juan Reyes of Fredericksburg.
At the top of the first inning, Fredericksburg had runners on second and third base with one out when Juan Cruz hit a two-run RBI single to center field, scoring Coy James and Cristhian Vaquero to put the Nationals up 2-0. With two outs, Beck struck out Rafael Ramirez Jr. to end the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the third inning, Fayetteville had runners on the corners with one out when Ben Tryon hit an RBI single to third base, scoring Kam Durnin. It was now 2-1. Carlos Cauro tied the game 2-2 with an RBI single to left field, scoring Kevin Alvarez. It would lead to Fredericksburg making a pitching change. With two outs, a groundout by Owen Nowak ended the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the fourth inning, Fayetteville had runners on first and second base with two outs when Logan Hughes hit a two-run RBI double to left field, scoring Aaron Piasecki and Kam Durnin for a 4-2 lead. Kevin Alvarez followed up by hitting an RBI single to center field, scoring Hughes for a 5-2 lead. A flyout by Carlos Cauro ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Fayetteville had runners on the corners when Aaron Piasecki hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Owen Nowak for a 6-2 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Kevin Alvarez ended the inning.
Fayetteville starter Jagger Beck went five innings, allowing five hits, two runs, one walk, and six strikeouts, throwing 83 pitches, of which 49 were strikes. Ryan Forcucci pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the sixth inning.
Fredericksburg stormed back. Forcucci loaded the bases when Rafael Ramirez Jr. grounded out to shortstop Kam Durnin, scoring Hunter Hines. It was now 6-3. With the bases loaded, Jordan Williams hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Juan Cruz. It was now 6-4. Manuel Cabrera grounded into a forceout at second base, scoring Cashel Dugger, and it was now 6-5. Coy James tied the game 6-6 with an RBI single to third base, scoring Dashyll Tejeda.
Fredericksburg right fielder Cristhian Vaquero put the Nationals up 8-6 with a two-run RBI single to right field, scoring Manuel Cabrera and Coy James. Forcucci was replaced by Leomar Rosario. Hunter Hines popped out to shortstop Kem Durnin for the final out of the inning. Forcucci allowed two hits, six runs, and four walks, throwing 33 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded with one out when Aaron Piasecki hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Ben Tryon. It was now 8-7. Fayetteville shortstop Kam Durnin reached first base on a throwing error by second baseman Manuel Cabrera, scoring Owen Nowak and Arturo Flores for a 9-8 lead. A wild pitch by Gus Hughes scored Brandon Nigh for a 10-8 lead. With two outs, Kevin Alvarez struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Leomar Rosario went 1.1 innings, with one strikeout, throwing 15 pitches, of which 11 were strikes. Mick Uebelhor pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the eighth inning. Fredericksburg had runners on first and second base with two outs when Cristhian Vaquero hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Manuel Cabrera. It was now 10-9. Uebelhor was replaced by Tazwell Butler. With the bases loaded, Butler hit Juan Cruz, scoring Coy James, and the game was tied 10-10. A lineout by Cashel Dugger ended the inning. Uebelhor allowed two hits, two runs, two walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 30 pitches, of which 17 were strikes.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Fayetteville had runners on first and second base with one out when Kevin Alvarez hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Kam Durnin to put the Woodpeckers ahead 11-10. Ben Tryon followed up by hitting a two-run RBI single to center field, scoring Logan Hughes and Kevin Alvarez for a 13-10 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Aaron Piasecki ended the inning.
At the top of the ninth inning, Fredericksburg had runners on first and second base with one out when Manuel Cabrera hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Rafael Ramirez Jr. It was now 13-11. With two outs and the bases loaded for Fredericksburg, Tazwell Butler was replaced by third baseman Brandon Nigh.
A groundout by Hunter Hines ended the game. The Woodpeckers survived to beat the Nationals in a slugfest by the final score of 13-11 for their fourth straight win. Tazwell Butler went an inning, allowing two hits, one run, two walks, and one strikeout, throwing 35 pitches, of which 16 were strikes. Nigh threw two pitches, of which one was a strike.
Fayetteville finished the night with 17 hits, went 7 of 16 with runners in scoring position, and left 16 men on base. Ben Tryon went 4 for 5 with a walk and three RBIs. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Tazwell Butler (1-0), while Brandon Nigh earned his first save of the season, and the loss went to Fredericksburg pitcher Gus Hughes (1-1).
The Woodpeckers and Nationals play game five on Saturday at 7:05 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Adrian Ardines (0-0, 4.50 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against R.J. Sales (0-0, 7.71 ERA) of Fredericksburg.
