Alvarez and Neyens' Big Swings Carry Woodpeckers to First Win
Fayetteville, NC - The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (1-1) saw their two top prospects connect for a pair of go-ahead two-run doubles in the late innings on Saturday night to secure a 6-5 victory over the Wilson Warbirds (1-1) at Segra Stadium. The victory was Fayetteville’s first of the new season and
Fayetteville, NC - The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (1-1) saw their two top prospects connect for a pair of go-ahead two-run doubles in the late innings on Saturday night to secure a 6-5 victory over the Wilson Warbirds (1-1) at Segra Stadium. The victory was Fayetteville’s first of the new season and sets up a series rubber match for Sunday.
The lineup opened up the first of three separate leads with an RBI grounder from Josh Wakefield in the fourth inning. Nick Monistere connected for an RBI single in the fifth to stretch the lead to 2-0 against reliever Enderson Mercado.
The combo of Ethan Pecko and Jesus Carrera held Wilson scoreless across the first six innings. Pecko returned to Segra Stadium for the first time since 2024 on minor league rehab assignment and struck out four over two scoreless. Carrera entered in the third inning and cruised through four hitless frames with four strikeouts.
Wilson woke up in the seventh with three runs against Charlie Weber. Frederi Montero swatted a solo homer to right, then Juan Ortuno and Brady Ebel drew bases-loaded walks to grab Wilson’s first lead at 3-2.
Neyens' opportunity arose in the bottom of the seventh with two runners on and one out. The 19-year-old delivered with a liner down the left field line off of Mercado that cleared the bases for the 4-3 lead.
Wilson leveled the game with a Yannic Walther sac-fly in the top of the eighth, setting the stage for Alvarez to come through in the bottom of the inning.
With the bases loaded and one out, the 18-year-old top prospect hammered a deep fly to right field that hopped over the wall for a ground-rule double and scored two for a 6-4 advantage.
Jackson Wells closed out the game in his professional debut, recording the final seven outs and earning his first winning decision as a pro.
The Woodpeckers will look for their first series win of the season on Easter Sunday in the final game of the three-game set. RHP Luis Aguilar is projected to start for Fayetteville and Wilson will counter with RHP Jarrette Bonet. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 PM. Stick around for after the game as kids can participate in our postgame Easter Egg hunt in the outfield!