The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (1-0) returned to Segra Stadium on Tuesday night for Game 2 of the Carolina League Championship against the Charleston RiverDogs (0-1). Juan Fraide was on the mound for Fayetteville against Jacob Kuhn of Charleston.
Fayetteville shortstop Kam Durnin began the bottom of the first inning with a double to left field. Logan Hughes struck out swinging before Kevin Alvarez hit a single to left field to put runners on the corners. Waner Luciano popped out to shortstop Cooper Flemming for the second out. Kevin Alvarez stole second base, and Owen Nowak worked a four-pitch walk. The bases were loaded for Ben Tryon. Tryon hit Kuhn’s sinker for a grand slam to right field for a 4-0 lead. A groundout by Rashawn Galloway ended the inning.
Fayetteville starter Juan Faide went five innings, allowing a hit, a walk, and six strikeouts, throwing 82 pitches, of which 54 were strikes. Jesus Carrera pitched for Fayetteville at the top of the sixth inning. With two outs, Charleston shortstop Cooper Flemming hit a solo home run to right-center field. It was now 4-1. A flyout by Taitn Gray ended the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Aaron Piasecki was hit by a pitch, and Kam Durnin walked on four pitches with nobody out. After a pitching change, Logan Hughes walked, and the bases were loaded for Kevin Alvarez. He hit a two-run RBI single to center field, scoring Piasecki and Durnin for a 6-1 lead. Waner Luciano grounded out to shortstop Cooper Flemming, scoring Logan Hughes for a 7-1 lead. Ben Tryon struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Jesus Carrera put two runners on base before Slater de Brun hit an RBI double to center field, scoring J.D. Gonzalez. It was now 7-2. Carrera was replaced by Brandon Cassedy. Cassedy struck out Cooper Flemming, Taitn Gray, and Tom Poole. Carrera went two innings, allowing four hits, two runs, one walk, and two strikeouts, throwing 34 pitches, of which 24 were strikes.
Brandon Cassedy pitched at the top of the ninth inning. Cassedy put a runner on first base when Dean Moss hit a two-run home run to right-center field. It was now 7-4. Cassedy struck out Jack Lines and J.D. Gonzalez before walking Alberth Palma. Cassedy struck out Slater de Brun for the final out of the game.
The Fayetteville Woodpeckers win the 2026 Carolina League championship with a 7-4 win. It is the first title in franchise history. The last time Fayetteville won a championship was in 1956 as the Fayetteville Highlanders. It has also been seven years since their last championship. They were the Buies Creek Astros when they won the Carolina League championship in 2018 prior to their move to Fayetteville.
Brandon Cassedy went two innings, allowing two hits, two runs, one walk, and six strikeouts, throwing 43 pitches, of which 27 were strikes. Fayetteville finished the night with six hits, committed one error, went 4 for 13 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base. Ben Tryon went 1 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs. The win went to Fayetteville starter Juan Fraide, and the loss went to Charleston starter Jacob Kuhn.
The Woodpeckers finished the season with an overall record of 71-58 (32-33 in the first half, and 39-25 in the second half). The Woodpeckers start their title defense in April 2027.
