Ochoa Jr’s Go-Ahead Three-Run Home Run Locks Series Victory for Woodpeckers 

Fayetteville, NC – For a second straight night the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (6-3) pulled off a late-game comeback over the Charleston RiverDogs (4-5), grabbing Sunday’s series conclusion 7-6 behind a towering 3-run home run from Nehomar Ochoa Jr. It came off the heels of a seventh inning comeback Saturday night, stealing the series 4-2 over the south division rival.

The Woodpeckers homered three times in the game and erased three separate deficits. They entered the bottom of the eighth trailing 5-3, facing new reliever Adam Boucher. Boucher struggled to command the zone, walking both Anthony Sherwin and Waner Luciaon to start the inning. Luis Encarnacion cut it to a 5-4 game with an RBI fielder’s choice, then Juan Santander reached to put two on for Ochoa.

Ochoa, the youngest player on the roster at 18-years-old, attacked a high fastball from Boucher and slugged it onto the left-field berm for a 7-5 lead. The blast was the fourth of his professional career and first at the Single-A level, handing Fayetteville its first lead of the night.

Abel Mercedes (SV, 1) entered out of the bullpen to close down the game in the top of the ninth, allowing one run by balking with a runner on third. With the potential tying run Angel Mateo standing at third, Mercedes used a combination of a 100 MPH fastball and curve to strikeout Noah Myers and end the game.

Yamal Encarnacion erased Charleston’s first lead of the night with a solo homer down the right field line, tying the game 1-1. The RiverDogs scored two in the top of the fourth, but Fayetteville quickly countered with a solo homer from Juan Santander in the home half of the inning, and consecutive doubles from Alejandro Nunez and Alberto Hernandez in the bottom of the fifth that tied it again 3-3.

The Woodpeckers will be off on Monday, then hit the road to Fredericksburg, Virginia Tuesday for the start of a six-game road series against the Fredericksburg Nationals. First pitch at FredNats Ballpark is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

Full Box Score: https://www.milb.com/gameday/754006/final/box