The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (58-52, 26-19) and the Fredericksburg Nationals (68-44, 22-24) played game five on Saturday night at Segra Stadium. Adrian Ardines was on the mound for Fayetteville against R.J. Sales of Fredericksburg.
In the bottom of the first inning, Fayetteville had a runner on third base with two outs when Waner Luciano hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Logan Hughes to put the Woodpeckers up 1-0. With two outs, a groundout by Owen Nowak ended the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Fayetteville had a runner on second base with one out when Logan Hughes hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Kam Durnin for a 2-0 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Owen Nowak ended the inning.
Fredericksburg came back at the top of the fourth inning when Avery Ortiz hit a three-run home run to left-center field, tying the game 3-3. It was his first home run of the season. Later, a wild pitch by Ardines scored Jordan Williams to give the Nationals a 4-3 lead.
Carson Estridge replaced Adrian Ardines. With two outs, a flyout by Manuel Cabrera ended the inning. Ardines went 3.2 innings, allowing five hits, four runs, one walk, and six strikeouts, throwing 57 pitches, of which 39 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on second base with one out when Carlos Cauro hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Jayden Fielder, and the game was tied 4-4. With two outs, Kam Durnin worked a four-pitch walk on a wild pitch by Noah Millikan, scoring Carlos Cauro for a 5-4 lead. Logan Hughes followed up by hitting an RBI triple to left field, scoring Durnin for a 6-4 lead. Kevin Alvarez struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Carson Estridge went 1.1 innings, allowing a hit and struck out one, throwing 16 pitches, of which 11 were strikes. Jesus Carrera pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the sixth inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded with one out when Aaron Piasecki hit a two-run RBI double to left field, scoring Owen Nowak and Luis De Leon for an 8-4 lead. Kam Durnin followed up by hitting a three-run home run to right-center field for an 11-4 lead. With two outs, Kevin Alvarez struck out swinging.
Jesus Carrera went four innings, allowing two hits, one walk, and one strikeout, throwing 45 pitches, of which 26 were strikes, to get the final 12 outs of the game. The Woodpeckers beat the Nationals 11-4 for their fifth straight win.
Fayetteville finished the night with nine hits, went 5 for 11 with runners in scoring position, and left four men on base. Kem Durnin went 2 for 4 with a walk, a home run, a stolen base, and three RBIs. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Carson Estridge (1-0), while Jesus Carrera earned his third save of the season, and the loss went to Fredericksburg pitcher Noah Millikan (1-2).
The Woodpeckers and Nationals wrap up the six-game series on Sunday at 5:05 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Jank Pichardo (0-1, 15.00 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Landon Harmon (1-0, 1.67 ERA) of Fredericksburg.
