Fayetteville, N.C. - Fayetteville jumped out to a 6-0 lead, three innings in, Friday and never looked back, taking game one of the series by a 8-1 final.
Fayetteville, N.C. - Fayetteville jumped out to a 6-0 lead, three innings in, Friday and never looked back, taking game one of the series by a 8-1 final.
The Wood Ducks (36-29, 86-49) left ten men on base, while the Woodpeckers (38-28, 69-66) went 5-for-11 with men in scoring position on their way to a victory.
The 'Peckers jumped on the board in the first inning. Jeremy Pena singled to start the frame and then Cal Stevenson lined a ball to center field that bounced past a diving Julio Pablo Martinez for an RBI triple. With two-outs, David Hensley then beat out a swinging bunt single to make it a 2-0 advantage.
Fayetteville then exploded for a four-run third against Tim Brennan (loss, 4-3). Stevenson singled to lead off the inning, and then Chandler Taylor singled up the middle two batters later. Hensley followed with an RBI single, and later in the frame, Scott Manea came through with a RBI groundout. Scott Schreiber capped the scoring with a two-run single back up the middle, making it a 6-0 lead.
Brennan battled back in the ballgame after the rough start. He went on to retire the final ten men he faced, and finished the contest with six strikeouts. He gave up six runs on nine hits over six innings, but did not walk a batter.
Meanwhile Jojanse Torres (win, 9-0) was sharp for Fayetteville. He scattered three hits and two walks over six innings, only once allowing a man to reach scoring position. Torres struck out four on the night.
Martinez broke up the shutout in the eighth inning with a solo home run to right field off of Leovanny Rodriguez . The long ball was his 13th of the season, and second in as many nights.
Manea then returned the favor, blasting a two-run shot, his 12th, off of Cole Uvila in the home eighth to extend the lead to 8-1.
The teams reconvene for a double-header, Saturday, with game one set for 3 p.m. The Wood Ducks will send righty Noah Bremer (3-0, 2.93) to the mound to face off with Fayetteville lefty Parker Mushinski (0-1, 3.52). The broadcast will begin at 2:50 p.m. on 960AM The Bull, and online at 960thebull.com as well as on the MiLB First Pitch and TuneIn Radio App. The Wood Ducks will return to Grainger Stadium for Game Three of the Divisional Round of the playoffs Friday, September 6. For tickets and more information visit woodducksbaseball.com or call (252) 686-5172.
