Woodpeckers Comeback Bid Falls Just Shy on Fourth of July

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (5-8, 41-38) had traffic on the bases all night long, but they lacked the big breakthrough hit in a 5-2 loss to the Carolina Mudcats (10-3, 46-31)

Right away, the Woodpeckers were forced to play from behind. The Mudcats struck for a pair of runs in both the first and second innings, placing Fayetteville in a quick 4-0 hole.

However, the Woodpeckers began to chip away at the Carolina advantage. A Reylin Perez line drive led to a Mudcats error, bringing home the first Fayetteville run in the bottom of the fourth. One frame later, Esmil Valencia lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center field, cutting their deficit in half at 4-2.

In the meantime, the Fayetteville bullpen stepped up to keep them in the game. Cam Brown twirled 1.1 innings of scoreless baseball, and Parker Smith entered behind him with two scoreless innings to hold the Mudcats offense in check.

As the game reached the eighth inning, though, the Mudcats found a way back into the run column. A two-out error helped them tack on a fifth run, providing the remaining run support to see out a three-run victory on the Fourth of July.

Fayetteville continues the second half of their split six-game series against the Mudcats before returning home on Saturday at 7:05 PM. RHP Twine Palmer is expected to start for the Woodpeckers opposite RHP Bryce Meccage for Carolina. Red, White, & Blue Weekend continues with the second of two consecutive nights featuring the biggest fireworks shows of the season.