The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (71-58, 39-25) took on the Hickory Crawdads (82-47, 48-17) in game five on Saturday night at L.P. Frans Stadium. Adrian Ardines was on the mound for Fayetteville against Jacob Johnson for Hickory.
The game was scoreless in the first two and a half innings. In the bottom of the third inning, Hickory had the bases loaded when Jay McQueen grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, scoring Curley Martha to give the Crawdads a 1-0 lead. Ardines struck out Brandon Crabtree to end the inning. Adrian Ardines went four innings, allowing two hits, one run, five walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 83 pitches, of which 42 were strikes.
Carson Estridge pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the fifth inning. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Hickory had runners on the corners with one out when Yolfran Castillo hit a sacrifice bunt to first base, scoring Daniel Flames for a 2-0 lead. With two outs, a lineout by Jay McQueen ended the inning. Estridge went three innings, allowing a run, a walk, and one strikeout, throwing 33 pitches, of which 20 were strikes.
John Carver pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the eighth inning. He walked two and struck out one, throwing 18 pitches, of which nine were strikes. The Woodpeckers would be shut out by the Crawdads 2-0 for their fifth straight loss.
Fayetteville finished the night with four hits, went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. The loss went to Fayetteville starter Adrian Ardines (0-1), while the win went to Hickory starter Jacob Johnson (1-0), and J.D. McReynolds earned his seventh save of the season.
The Woodpeckers and Crawdads conclude the regular season on Sunday at 2 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Fayetteville will name their starter tomorrow, while Josh Owens (0-2, 2.92 ERA) will be on the mound for Hickory.
