The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (71-55, 39-22) took on the Hickory Crawdads (79-47, 45-17) in game two on Wednesday night at L.P. Frans Stadium. Juan Fraide was on the mound for Fayetteville against Seong-Jun Kim for Hickory.
The game was scoreless for two and a half innings. In the bottom of the third inning, Hickory had runners on the corners when a passed ball by catcher Arturo Flores scored Curley Martha to put the Crawdads up 1-0. With two outs, Paulino Santana hit an RBI single to third baseman Waner Luciano, scoring Kaden Carpenter for a 2-0 lead. Fraide struck out Deward Tovar to end the inning. Juan Fraide went four innings, allowing three hits, two runs, one walk, and six strikeouts, throwing 74 pitches, of which 46 were strikes.
Jose Serrano pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the fifth inning. Hickory had a runner on first base when Jay McQueen hit an RBI double to right field, scoring Kaden Carpenter for a 3-0 lead. Two batters later with one out, Brandon Crabtree hit an RBI single to left field, scoring McQueen for a 4-0 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Noah Franklin ended the inning.
At the top of the sixth inning, Fayetteville had runners on first and second base with one out when Logan Hughes hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Petey Soto Jr., and it was now 4-1. Kevin Alvarez grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
In the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs, Yolfran Castillo hit an RBI triple to right field. A throwing error by right fielder Juan Sierra allowed Castillo to score for a 5-1 lead. A lineout by Kaden Carpenter ended the inning.
At the top of the seventh inning, Fayetteville had runners on the corners with one out when Rashawn Galloway hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Ben Tryon. It was now 5-2. A passed ball by catcher Noah Franklin scored Aaron Piasecki. It was now 5-3. With two outs, Juan Sierra was caught in a rundown, allowing Rashawn Galloway to score before Sierra was tagged out stealing second base for the final out of the inning. The Woodpeckers trailed the Crawdads 5-4.
Jose Serrano went four innings, allowing four hits, three runs, two walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 75 pitches, of which 45 were strikes. The Woodpeckers would lose to the Crawdads 5-4. Fayetteville finished the night with five hits, committed two errors, went 3 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and left two men on base. The loss went to Fayetteville starter Juan Fraide (6-2), while the win went to Hickory pitcher Jake Barbee (1-0), and Louis Marinaro earned his eighth save of the season.
The Woodpeckers will look to end a two-game losing streak against the Crawdads on Thursday at 7 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Fayetteville will name their starter tomorrow, while Evan Siary (7-3, 3.36 ERA) will be on the mound for Hickory.
