Following their postponement on Wednesday, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers settled for a split doubleheader with the Lynchburg Hillcats on Thursday, as Fayetteville muscled their way to a 10-6 victory in game one, but were stemmed in game two 8-1.The Woodpeckers were finally able to return to their power-packed form, by slugging
Following their postponement on Wednesday, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers settled for a split doubleheader with the Lynchburg Hillcats on Thursday, as Fayetteville muscled their way to a 10-6 victory in game one, but were stemmed in game two 8-1.The Woodpeckers were finally able to return to their power-packed form, by slugging two home runs in the first game, and Michael Papierski tore across City Stadium in the first game with his first ever four-hit performance.
GAME ONE
Recently promoted to Fayetteville on a recovery from injury, Tyler Ivey delivered the best performance that Fayetteville could have hoped four, as the right-hander faced the minimum over three scoreless innings before hitting his prescribed limit. Ivey did not allow a base hit in the outing, and he struck out two.
The outing was more than enough to give Fayetteville the opportunity to attack Justin Garza of Lynchburg. After a pair of walks in the second inning, Michael Papierski brought the first run home on a double, and another quickly scored on a sacrifice fly. Fayetteville continued to assault Garza (L, 4-8) in the fourth inning. After Papierski led off with a single, Garza walked three more batters before being lifted, and a two-RBI single by Jake Adams closed the day on Garza as his final two runs would come in. Fayetteville would continue to apply pressure to a pair of relievers, Dakody Clemmer and Felix Tati. Jonathan Arauz led off the fifth inning with a solo home run to right field, the first home run for Fayetteville in over five games. Fayetteville knocked a pair of RBI doubles, including another by Papierski, to plate three total runs against Clemmer in the fifth inning. After Lynchburg had cut the game close, Papierski delivered again in the seventh inning with a two-run shot to right field for his seventh home run of the season.
Following the near perfect appearance from Ivey, Jojanse Torres was less clean on the mound. After allowing a pair of baserunners in the fourth inning, Torres was hit four three runs in the fifth, including a two-RBI triple by Tyler Friis, immediately followed by a wild pitch. On benefit from the large Fayetteville lead, Torres was still able to maintain the lead, even though he allowed another trio of runs in the sixth inning, as he allowed the first five batters of the frame to reach base safely, including RBI from Mitch Reeves and Gavin Collins. While Torres (W, 4-0) had allowed the contest to be cut close, he was still able to lock a perfect seventh inning to give Fayetteville the series-opening win.
GAME TWO
The Fayetteville offense was much softer in the second game against a slew of bullpen arms for Lynchburg, as the Woodpeckers failed to plate a run over the first four innings of the night, a stretch that was long enough for Lynchburg to take a commanding lead in the nightcap.
In his second start of the year with Fayetteville, Cody Deason had flashes of his Woodpeckers debut when he tossed a clean first inning, but the right-hander struggled in the second. Deason (L, 0-2) allowed a walk and three base hits to open the frame, and when an error and bases-loaded groundout followed, Deason surrendered four runs before the inning closed. Deason eventually allowed a fifth run in the following inning on a triple and bunt single, all with two outs. While Deason may have allowed five runs for the second consecutive, he aided a large part of franchise history for Fayetteville, when his first inning strikeout of Steven Kwan was the 1000th strikeout for the Fayetteville pitching staff on the year.
Deason was relieved by Leovanny Rodriguez in the fifth inning, but he allowed another trio of runs on a pair of two-out singles to give Lynchburg their eight runs on the evening.
As Fayetteville took their chances against the bullpen arms for Lynchburg, Jeremy Pena was able to crack through against Manuel Alvarez (W, 1-0) in the fifth inning, when he doubled to left-center field to bring home Fayetteville's only run of the day. The knock extended Pena's active hit streak to 10 games, the third longest mark in franchise history.
With the split twin-bill, Fayetteville will play a rubber match for their third consecutive series. As the two sides have each won five games against the other this season, Fayetteville will once again try to push ahead against Lynchburg when Luis Garcia takes the mound in the finale. First pitch from City Stadium in scheduled for 6:00PM.
The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are the Advanced Single-A affiliate of the 2017 World Champion Houston Astros and play in their Inaugural Season at beautiful Segra Stadium in downtown Fayetteville. Segra Stadium, a $40 million state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue, features space for over 5,200 fans, natural grass, a 25x70 LED video scoreboard, six luxury suites, four field boxes, the premium AEVEX Veterans Club level, Healy's Bar and outdoor party deck, a kid's zone, and more. With a rich history of baseball in the city of Fayetteville and Cumberland County, the Woodpeckers are thrilled to write a new chapter with their inaugural campaign on Hay Street. Fans are encouraged to visit FayettevilleWoodpeckers.com to purchase tickets, learn more about the team, and find out about upcoming events and promotions at the ballpark. Fans may also reach the Woodpeckers by visiting the BB&T Box Office in front of Segra Stadium, calling (910) 339-1989, or emailing [email protected].
