After rain postponed Saturday night’s game, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (64-53, 32-20) concluded the six-game series with a doubleheader against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (45-73, 18-36) on Sunday evening at Pelicans Park. In game one, Adrian Ardines was on the mound for Fayetteville against Riely Hunsaker of Myrtle Beach.
In the bottom of the second inning, Myrtle Beach had runners on first and second base when Fayetteville catcher Luis De Leon made a throwing error attempting to get Corey Nunez at second base, but the ball went to center field, scoring Jhoander Irigoyen to put the Pelicans up 1-0. With two outs, Jan Luis Reyes grounded into a forceout at second base to end the inning.
Moving to the top of the fourth inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded with one out when Aaron Piasecki put the Woodpeckers up 2-1 with a two-run RBI single to right field, scoring Kam Durnin and Owen Nowak. With two outs, a groundout by Arturo Flores ended the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded with one out when Logan Hughes was hit by a pitch, scoring Rashawn Galloway for a 3-1 lead. Luis De Leon stole home plate, which made it 4-1. With two outs, a flyout by Aaron Piasecki ended the inning.
Adrian Ardines put a runner on first base before he was replaced by Jesus Carrera. Myrtle Beach second baseman Juan Cabada hit an RBI double to right-center field, scoring Jose Silva. It was now 4-2. Carrera walked Caden Sorrell before a flyout from Jhoander Irigoyen ended the inning. Adrian Ardines went four innings, allowing a hit, two runs, four walks, and five strikeouts, throwing 82 pitches, of which 48 were strikes.
At the top of the seventh inning, Fayetteville had a runner on second base with one out when Logan Hughes hit an RBI double to right field, scoring Kam Durnin for a 5-2 lead. Owen Nowak followed up by hitting an RBI single to first base. A throwing error by Jan Luis Reyes scored Hughes for a 6-2 lead. With two outs, a flyout by Aaron Piasecki ended the inning.
Jesus Carrera pitched three innings, allowing a hit, four walks, and one strikeout, throwing 57 pitches, of which 28 were strikes, to get the final nine outs of the game. The Woodpeckers beat the Pelicans in game one by the final score of 6-2 for their fifth straight win.
Fayetteville finished game one with five hits, committed one error, went 3 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base. Logan Hughes went 1 for 2 with a walk, a double, a hit by a pitch, and two RBIs. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Jesus Carrera (1-4), and the loss went to Myrtle Beach starter Riely Hunsaker.
In game two, Charlie Weber was on the mound for Fayetteville against Freddy Rodriguez of Myrtle Beach. At the top of the first inning, Fayetteville had runners on second and third base with one out when Carlos Cauro hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Logan Hughes for a 1-0 lead. A flyout by Owen Nowak ended the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, Fayetteville center fielder Kevin Alvarez made it 2-0 for the Woodpeckers with a solo home run to left field. It was his 11th home run of the season. Fayetteville had a chance to add another run with two outs, but German Ramirez grounded out to second base for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Myrtle Beach right fielder Caden Sorrell hit a solo home run to right field, cutting Fayetteville’s lead to 2-1. It was his second home run of the season. Charlie Weber would strike out the side to end the inning. Weber went four innings, allowing three hits, one run, and five strikeouts, throwing 50 pitches, of which 36 were strikes.
Brady Thomas pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the fifth inning. He walked two and struck out, throwing 18 pitches, of which 8 were strikes. At the top of the sixth inning, Fayetteville would get the run back when Logan Hughes hit a solo home run to left field for a 3-1 lead. It was his second home run of the season. Later, Fayetteville had runners on second and third base when Jhon Cabral threw a wild pitch, scoring Kevin Alvarez for a 4-1 lead.
Two batters later, Fayetteville second baseman Petey Soto Jr. hit a two-run RBI double to center field, scoring Carlos Cauro and German Ramirez for a 6-1 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Jadyn Fielder ended the inning.
Jank Pichardo pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the sixth inning. Pichardo went two innings, allowing a hit, a walk, and struck out one strikeout, throwing 26 pitches, of which 16 were strikes, to get the final six outs of the game. The Woodpeckers completed the doubleheader sweep with a 6-1 win. The Woodpeckers also swept the Pelicans 12-0 in the season series.
Fayetteville finished the night with six hits, went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position, and left three men on base. Kevin Alvarez went 2 for 3 with a home run, a double, a walk, and a stolen base. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Brady Thomas (1-0), while Jank Pichardo earned his first save of the season, and the loss went to Myrtle Beach starter Freddy Rodriguez (0-1).
The Woodpeckers return to Segra Stadium on Tuesday to begin a seven-game homestand against the Salem RidgeYaks at 6:35 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live.
