The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (61-53, 29-20) and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (45-70, 18-33) played game three on Thursday night at Pelicans Park. Ryan Verdugo was on the mound for Fayetteville against Chase Meyer of Myrtle Beach.
The game was scoreless through seven innings. Fayetteville starter Ryan Verdugo went six innings, allowing a hit, three walks, and eight strikeouts, throwing 83 pitches, of which 54 were strikes. Leomar Rosario pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the seventh inning. He walked one and struck out two, throwing 23 pitches, of which 10 were strikes.
At the top of the eighth inning, Fayetteville had a runner on second base with one out when Owen Nowak hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Logan Hughes for a 1-0 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Aaron Piasecki ended the inning.
Leomar Rosario went two innings, allowing a hit, a walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 43 pitches, of which 24 were strikes. Carson Estridge pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the ninth inning. He threw 15 pitches, of which 11 were strikes, to get the final three outs of the game. The Woodpeckers shut out the Pelicans 1-0 for their third straight win. It is their second straight shutout of this series.
Fayetteville finished the night with seven hits, 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base. Owen Nowak went 4 for 4 with a double, three stolen bases, and one RBI. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Leomar Rosario (3-2), while Carson Estridge earned his first save of the season, and the loss went to Myrtle Beach pitcher Hayden Frank (3-8).
The Woodpeckers and Pelicans play game four on Friday at 7:05 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Jagger Beck (4-3, 3.01 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville, while Myrtle Beach will name a starter later.
