Playing in their third rubber match in as many series on Friday, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers found themselves on the wrong end of the series finale at City Stadium, as the Lynchburg Hillcats pounded five runs across Luis Garcia in just the first two frames to serve Fayetteville a 6-3 loss.
Playing in their third rubber match in as many series on Friday, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers found themselves on the wrong end of the series finale at City Stadium, as the Lynchburg Hillcats pounded five runs across Luis Garcia in just the first two frames to serve Fayetteville a 6-3 loss. Despite the slow start, Garcia was still able to push through four innings, while Brett Conine tossed four strong frames on the back end of a tandem, and Corey Julks logged a stellar 4-for-5 day offensively even though Fayetteville came up short.
After a quick scoreless inning from Lynchburg starter Juan Mota, the Hillcats launched ahead as soon as they could. After a pair of singles by Lynchburg, Oscar Gonzalez drilled a line drive over the left field wallover the left field wall for an early three-run lead. While Fayetteville was able to get one of those runs back in the second inning, Luis Garcia caused problems for himself in the same frame. Garcia (L, 3-2) walked a pair of batters to open the frame, and while Garcia was gifted a double play to take one of the runners away, he still was hit for a couple more runs. With the two outs in the frame, Garcia went on to commit two errors in the inning, one while trying to throw to first on a bunt single, and the other when misplaying a slow grounder back to the mound. The errors allowed one run to score, and another run crossed on a wild pitch. Garcia would finally lock in after the second inning, and he tossed a pair of perfect frames to end his night.
Dealing with a big deficit early, the Woodpeckers offense was never able to match Lynchburg when it came to the big inning. Corey Julks sliced the first pitch of the second inning over the left field wall to make it a two-run game for a short while. /it took until the fifth inning before the Woodpeckers could scratch Mota (W, 1-0) again. As Mota made his Advanced-A debut, the Lynchburg right-hander struck out five over five innings, and only relenting another run in the fifth inning when Chandler Taylor singled to right field to run the contest to a 5-2 score. Fayetteville was able to inch closer in the seventh inning against reliever Hector Hernandez surrendered an unearned run following an error, when Corey Julks singled up the middle to make it a two-run game. Julks contacted well on the night, going 4-for-5 with his solo home run and three singles, only the second four-hit game in his career.
While Fayetteville had come close, the lead was too much to overcome, even while Brett Conine tossed well on the back end of a tandem outing. Conine faced the minimum over his first three innings of relief work. The speedy right-hander did allow a run in the eighth inning, however, after a leadoff double and an RBI single by Wilbis Santiago, Lynchburg had an insurance run that would ultimately become unnecessary. While Fayetteville was able to plate a run on a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, Jonathan Teaney was still able t lock in a well-padded save.
Having lost their second consecutive series, Fayetteville will not have much opportunity to rest, as they prepare for a doubleheader with the Potomac Nationals on Saturday. As Fayetteville will soon wrap up their stretch of five games in only three days, J.P. France will start the first game of the twin-bill, with the first pitch scheduled for 5:00PM in Woodbridge.
The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are the Advanced Single-A affiliate of the 2017 World Champion Houston Astros and play in their Inaugural Season at beautiful Segra Stadium in downtown Fayetteville. Segra Stadium, a $40 million state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue, features space for over 5,200 fans, natural grass, a 25x70 LED video scoreboard, six luxury suites, four field boxes, the premium AEVEX Veterans Club level, Healy's Bar and outdoor party deck, a kid's zone, and more. With a rich history of baseball in the city of Fayetteville and Cumberland County, the Woodpeckers are thrilled to write a new chapter with their inaugural campaign on Hay Street. Fans are encouraged to visit FayettevilleWoodpeckers.com to purchase tickets, learn more about the team, and find out about upcoming events and promotions at the ballpark. Fans may also reach the Woodpeckers by visiting the BB&T Box Office in front of Segra Stadium, calling (910) 339-1989, or emailing [email protected].
