Woodpeckers Break Through Late to Win Third Straight

Despite a seven-inning offensive slump, a two-hour rain delay, and a ninth-inning deficit, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers came from behind on Saturday night to knock off the Myrtle Beach Pelicans for the third consecutive night. Fayetteville scored three times in the top of the ninth inning to overcome a one-run discrepancy, as the Woodpeckers took down Myrtle Beach 5-3. Fayetteville has now opened the second half on a 3-0 stretch, and they have an opportunity for their first four-game sweep on Sunday.

As they've become accustomed to over their last few games, Fayetteville once again struck quickly. Leading off the game, Jacob Meyers lofted a pitch to left-center field that struck the glove of the sprinting center fielder Zach Davis. As the ball fell on the warning track, Meyers raced to third base, opening the game with a triple, and he scored just one batter later, on a sacrifice fly. With the early lead in hand, JJ Matijevic doubled the advantage on the very next pitch, as the lefty homered the opposite way to quickly make it 2-0. While starter Erick Leal had hoped for a better start against Fayetteville, the right-hander locked in for Myrtle Beach following those first three batters. Leal only allowed an isolated single over the remaining four innings of his start, buying enough time for Myrtle Beach to attack the Fayetteville lead.
While Shawn Dubin looked to be revving up for another quality start early on, striking out three batters in the first inning, the right-hander was unable to maintain the early lead for the Woodpeckers. With two outs in the second inning, Dubin allowed a hard-hit single to Jimmy Herron, followed by a Luke Reynolds two-run home run to tie the game. As the Woodpeckers offense went quiet and failed to back up Dubin, the New York native surrendered an unearned run in the fourth inning. A single by Cam Balego with a throwing error added on, followed by an RBI single from Herron, pushed the Pelicans ahead.
After a scoreless fifth inning from both sides, including a perfect inning of relief from Cesar Rosado for Fayetteville, heavy rain began to push its way across Pelicans Ballpark, sending the game into a delay that lasted over two hours.
When the rain finally passed, the Fayetteville offense still took its time to make any noise, this time against Jeffery Passatino. As the right-hander made his Advanced-A debut, Passatino allowed only one baserunner, a leadoff double to Scott Schreiber in the seventh inning, while tossing three scoreless innings in relief. Reaching his limit, Passatino was lifted for the ninth inning, and was replaced by Manny Rondon. Having struggled through multiple outings this year, Rondon could not finish the frame. Rondon allowed five singles over the first seven batters of the frame. Three of the singles only fell about twenty feet into the outfield, and a single by Marty Costes rolled up the third base line, eventually striking the bag. With the bases loaded and one out, Michael Papierski stepped on to pinch-hit for Fayetteville, and hit one of the flared singles to right field, tying the game. Two batters later, Miguelangel Sierra floated a ball to the exact same location, this time scoring two.
With the newfound lead, Brett Conine was able to wrap a nearly perfect day on the back end. The tandem arm for Fayetteville worked on the mound for the remainder of the game following the rain delay, and the righty faced only one over the minimum in his four scoreless frames. The only baserunner that Conine allowed was a hit batsman in the seventh inning.
With an improbable win in hand, Fayetteville holds on to their single-game lead atop the South Division, and they will have an opportunity for their first-ever four-game sweep when they play the finale with Myrtle Beach on Sunday. Nivaldo Rodriguez will get the ball for Fayetteville, with the first pitch of the series finale coming at 6:05PM in Myrtle Beach.
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].