The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (71-56, 39-23) took on the Hickory Crawdads (80-47, 46-17) in game three on Thursday night at L.P. Frans Stadium. Ryan Verdugo was on the mound for Fayetteville against Evan Siary for Hickory.
The game was scoreless in the first four innings. At the top of the fifth inning, Fayetteville had the bases loaded with one out when German Ramirez hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Owen Nowak to give the Woodpeckers a 1-0 lead. With two outs, Logan Hughes struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Ryan Verdugo loaded the bases when he threw a wild pitch, scoring Sebastian Baquera, and the game was tied 1-1. Jay McQueen put the Crawdads up 3-1 with a two-run RBI single to right field, scoring Curley Martha and Yolfran Castillo. Verdugo was replaced by Brandon Cassedy. Cassedy struck out Paulino Santana to end the inning.
Ryan Verdugo went 4.2 innings, allowing five hits, three runs, five walks, and seven strikeouts, throwing 81 pitches, of which 61 were strikes, while Cassedy went 2.1 innings, allowing a hit, a walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 36 pitches, of which 24 were strikes.
At the top of the eighth inning, Fayetteville right fielder Logan Hughes hit a solo home run to left field, cutting Hickory’s lead to 3-2. It was his fourth home run of the season. With two outs, Kevin Alvarez struck out swinging.
Brady Thomas pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the eighth inning. He struck out two, throwing 11 pitches, of which nine were strikes. Fayetteville would lose their third straight game to the Crawdads 3-2. The Woodpeckers finished the night with seven hits, 2 for 4 with runners in scoring position, and left four men on base. The loss went to Fayetteville starter Ryan Verdugo (7-5), while the win went to Hickory pitcher William Privette (1-0), and Alejandro Chiquillo earned his first save of the season.
The Woodpeckers and Crawdads play game five on Friday at 7 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Fayetteville will name their starter tomorrow, while Moises Morales (10-2, 3.29 ERA) will be on the mound for Hickory.
