Woodpeckers Surrender Ten in Loss to Warbirds

Fayetteville, NC - A messy defensive night on the diamond with three errors per side went the wrong way for the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (12-19) Friday night in a 10-4 loss to the Wilson Warbirds (14-17).

Joey Dixon, the Astros 7th round pick out of Stanford, made his home debut and impressed out of the gate. He topped out at 96 mph with his fastball and struck out seven over 3.1 innings. Dixon has struck out seven batters in each of his first two Single-A outings and has 14 strikeouts in his first 6.1 innings pitched.

Wilson opened up a sizable 7-1 lead in the top of the sixth against Jose Serrano. Pedro Ibarguen slugged a two-run homer, and two errors at second base from Camilo Diaz allowed two more to score.

Fayetteville countered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth, all unearned against reliever Anfernny Reyes. With two outs and runners at first and second, Ibarguen dropped a fly ball in right field that allowed both men to score. With the inning extended, Juan Sierra cashed in another run with an RBI double.

The three-run stretch served as Fayetteville’s last offensive punch of the night and Wilson went on to score a run in each of the last three innings.

The series is all level and continues on Saturday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM. The Woodpeckers are projected to start RHP Ryan Forcucci opposite Wilson’s LHP Enderson Mercado.

Full Box Score: https://www.milb.com/gameday/827272/final/box