The Fayetteville Woodpeckers visited Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park on Sunday evening for Game 1 of the Carolina League Championship against the Charleston RiverDogs. Charlie Weber was on the mound for Fayetteville against Luke Jackson for Charleston.
At the top of the first inning, Kam Durnin hit a single and Logan Hughes walked with nobody out. Kevin Alvarez moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt. A wild pitch by Jackson scored Durnin to put the Woodpeckers up 1-0. Waner Luciano reached first base on a fielder’s choice. Logan Hughes was caught at home plate for the second out. A groundout by Owen Nowak ended the inning.
At the top of the second inning, Fayetteville first baseman Ben Tyron made it 2-0 with a solo home run to right field. Rashawn Galloway followed up with a single to pitcher Luke Jackson. Catcher Arturo Flores hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Galloway for a 3-0 lead. Aaron Piasecki followed up by hitting an RBI single to right field, scoring Flores for a 4-0 lead.
Kam Durnin hit a double to right field, moving Piasecki to third base with nobody out. It would lead to a pitching change by Charleston. Logan Hughes reached first base on a fielder’s choice, which loaded the bases. Kevin Alvarez made it 6-0 with a two-run RBI single to right field, scoring Piasecki and Durnin. Alvarez would steal second base. Waner Luciano made it 7-0 with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Hughes.
Ben Tryon reloaded the bases with a single to right field. Rashawn Galloway worked a four-pitch walk, scoring Kevin Alvarez for an 8-0 lead. Arturo Flores made it 9-0 with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Owen Nowak. Aaron Piasecki hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Ben Tryon for a 10-0 lead. It would lead to another pitching change for Charleston. Kam Durnin worked a four-pitch walk, and the bases were loaded again. Logan Hughes made it 11-0 with an RBI single to pitcher Xavier Lopez, scoring Rashawn Galloway. Kevin Alvarez struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Moving to the bottom of the fifth inning, Charleston had runners on first and second base with two outs when Cooper Flemming hit a two-run RBI double to left field, scoring Alberth Palma and Slater de Brun. It was now 11-2. Mick Uebelhor replaced Weber. A groundout by Taitn Gray ended the inning. Fayetteville starter Charlie Weber went 4.2 innings, allowing four hits, two runs, two walks, and four strikeouts, throwing 76 pitches, of which 45 were strikes.
At the top of the sixth inning, Arturo Flores walked with two outs. Aaron Piasecki made it 12-2 with an RBI double on a pop-out to second baseman Andreimi Antunez, scoring Flores. Kam Durnin made it 14-2 with a two-run home run. A flyout by Logan Hughes ended the inning.
Mick Uebelhor went 1.1 innings, allowing one walk and one strikeout, throwing 19 pitches, of which 11 were strikes. Aubrey Smith pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the seventh inning. Smith struck out two, throwing 13 pitches, of which seven were strikes, to get three outs. Leomar Rosario pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the eighth inning. He walked one and struck out one, throwing 14 pitches, of which eight were strikes.
Brady Thomas pitched for Fayetteville in the bottom of the ninth inning. Thomas loaded the bases before walking Slater de Brun. It was now 14-3. Thomas allowed a run, three walks, and one strikeout, throwing 22 pitches, of which five were strikes. Thomas was replaced by Jank Pichardo. Pichardo threw a wild pitch, scoring Yirer Garcia with two outs. It was now 14-4. A flyout by Taitn Gray ended the game. The Woodpeckers beat the RiverDogs 14-4.
Fayetteville finished the game with 15 hits, committed one error, went 6 for 13 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Kam Durnin went 3 for 4 with a walk, home run, a double, and two RBIs. The win went to Fayetteville pitcher Mick Uebelhor (1-0), and the loss went to Charleston starter Luke Jackson (0-1).
The Woodpeckers return to Segra Stadium with a chance to clinch the championship on Tuesday at 6:35 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live.
