Mudcats Spoil Segra Stadium Debut

In front of a sold-out crowd at Segra Stadium, Fayetteville starter Enoli Paredes put on a show with 9Ks.   Woodpeckers reliever Leovanny Rodriguez added five of his own pitching 3.1 innings out of the bullpen.   Still, the Carolina Mudcats offense chipped away, scoring two runs in 5th, 6th, and 9th innings to secure the victory.  

Fayetteville's Bryan De La Cruz wasted no time breaking in brand new Segra Stadium getting the first hit at home for the Woodpeckers with a leadoff single in the bottom of the first.
Offense was few and far between for the Woodpeckers after that initial base hit.   Carolina starter Noah Zavalos retired 10 batters in a row, until finally the Woodpeckers got on the board, scoring two in the fourth inning. The surge was highlighted by a Seth Beer left field bomb and a Jacob Meyers RBI double that put Fayetteville up 2-1.
The top of the 5th and 6th inning saw the Mudcats tack on two more scores a piece and take a 5-2 advantage.   Peyton Henry knocked in two runs with a 2 RBI double in the 5th, followed by Joantgel Segovia's 2 RBI single in the 6th.  
After the 7th inning stretch, Micheal Peterson took over as the first reliever for the Mudcats and the Woodpeckers pounced. Colton Shaver crushed his second homer of the year over the center field wall to pull the Woodpeckers with in 3.   Fayetteville trimmed the lead to one after Miguelangel Sierra sent Michael Papierski home with a single passed the glove of Carolina's Eddie Silva at 3rd. The RBI single extends Sierra's hitting streak to three games. The Woodpeckers were in prime position to take the lead still in the 7th with two outs, and Seth Beer up to the plate.   The Fayetteville DH hit one deep to left but didn't get enough juice and the Woodpeckers went into the 8th down one.  
The score remained 5-4 going into the bottom of the 8th thanks to a stellar inning from Rodriguez on the mound, who knocked out the Mudcats in order.   The Woodpeckers took advantage, tying the game on an RBI double from Johnathan Arauz that scored Colton Shaver from first base.  
Any dreams of a walk-off for the Woodpeckers was quickly squashed thanks to two run shot from Tristen Lutz in the top of the 9th.   The two out long-ball was the first of the year for Lutz and gave the Mudcats a 7-5 lead. Ultimately, the Woodpeckers couldn't find any life in the second and dropped their third game in a row to the Mudcats.
With the loss, the Woodpeckers fall to 8-7 on the year.   The Mudcats move to 9-6 on the young season and continue their three-game winning streak. Matt Hardy, who came in in relief is credited with the win.
The Woodpeckers get another crack at Carolina again tomorrow in game two of a four game series at home for Fayetteville. Christian Javier set to start on the mound for the Woodpeckers. First pitch set for 7:00pm from Segra Stadium.