Road Trip Recap: Woodpeckers Lock Up First Half Awards

Woodpeckers Close Historic First Half

The first half of the regular season concluded on Thursday night in Myrtle Beach, capping a franchise-record 66-game stretch in which the Woodpeckers finished with a 36-30 record and a third place finish in the Carolina League north division. The 36 wins marked the franchise’s most in a first half dating back to 2019, and also set new highs in run differential (+47) and home runs (50). The Lynchburg Hillcats won the first-half title and Fayetteville will now compete in a five-team (Delmarva, Fredericksburg, Carolina, Fayetteville, Salem) race for the second-half crown.

Luis Rodriguez win ERA Crown

Fayetteville RHP Luis Rodriguez finished atop the league leaderboard in qualifying ERA during the first half, becoming the first pitcher in franchise history to accomplish the feat. The 21-year-old out of Venezuela closed down his first half with 4.0 shutout innings on the road in Myrtle Beach, dropping his ERA to a league-topping 2.17. Rodriguez’s run to the ERA crown started on June 7th at Augusta when he started a run of ten consecutive scoreless innings across three outings, lowering his ERA from 2.66 to the 2.17 figure.

Brutcher Takes First Half Batting Title

The Woodpeckers also had the first half batting champ on their roster in outfielder Drew Brutcher, topping all hitters across the league with a .330 batting average. Brutcher earned a promotion to High-A Asheville following the final home series of the first half and tallied 65 hits over 54 games before his departure. His reign over the league was by a convincing margin as well, with Lynchburg’s Tommy Hawk finishing in second with a .309 average, an .021 point gap.

All Hail Cesar

Woodpeckers outfielder Cesar Hernandez put together his best series of his season while in Myrtle Beach. Hernandez went 8-for-22 (.364) with a HR, two doubles and reached base four times by walk. The lefty has beefed up his slugging numbers massively with nine homers this season in 62 games compared to just two in 94 games during the 2024 season. During 2024, Hernandez slugged .304 compared to his current figure of .395.

Next Up

Fayetteville begins a 6-game series on Tuesday night hosting the Augusta GreenJackets (Single-A, Atlanta Braves) in the second head-to-head between the two clubs this season. Fayetteville won five of six games in the last meeting with Augusta on the road. First pitch on Tuesday night is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.