After six losses to start the season against the Down East Wood Ducks, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers came up victorious Tuesday night in the series opener at Segra Stadium. Parker Mushinski made his first start for Fayetteville since May, meanwhile three Fayetteville relievers combined to allow just one run in the
After six losses to start the season against the Down East Wood Ducks, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers came up victorious Tuesday night in the series opener at Segra Stadium. Parker Mushinski made his first start for Fayetteville since May, meanwhile three Fayetteville relievers combined to allow just one run in the Woodpeckers 5-3 victory. Corey Julks went 2-3 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored, as Fayetteville made it four in a row against divisional foes.
Parker Mushinski made his return to Fayetteville after months rehabbing an injury, reintroducing himself on a high note by striking out three to end a scoreless first frame. The Woodpeckers offense backed up their hurler in the bottom of the first against Wood Ducks starter Sal Mendez (6-1). The Down East hurler retired both Jeremy Pena and Miguelangel Sierra to start the frame, but Corey Julks drew a two out walk to put a runner on for Fayetteville. Chandler Taylor got clipped with a pitch to move Julks into scoring position, the first run scoring thanks to Michael Papierski's 34th RBI of the year. Scott Schreiber knocked home Taylor on a base hit to left field that made it 2-0 Woodpeckers after just one inning of play.
The Wood Ducks added their first score of the game in the top of the second, with Diosbel Arias drawing a leadoff walk. Mushinski allowed another baserunner when Sherten Apostel sliced a single, but a fly out from Yanio Perez to left field put two gone in the frame. However, the first extra base hit of the game crushed by Josh Altmann was enough to drive Apostel home and put Down East on the board. Mushinski settled in and sent down Bubba Thompson to keep it 2-1 Fayetteville heading into the bottom of the second. The Woodpeckers did not waste much time adding an insurance run in the frame, doing it with two outs again. After Mendez retired Cal Stevenson and David Hensley in order Jeremy Pena blasted a double to put a runner in scoring position for the Woodpeckers. Corey Julks notched his 40th RBI of the year when he singled to left field, bringing home Pena and making it 3-1 Fayetteville.
The top of the third proved unlucky for Parker Mushinski as a leadoff runner in Sam Huff reached on an E5 committed by David Hensley. The Woodpeckers hurler retired the next two batters he faced on ground outs, but Huff moved the third on those putouts. Down East made it a run one game off a wild pitch that just slipped by Michael Papierski to allow Huff to score. Mushinski fanned Arias to end the inning but the Wood Ducks made it 3-2 off no hits after two and a half frames. The game remained close until the bottom of the fourth when the Woodpeckers offense tallied two more runs to stretch their lead to three. Stevenson and Hensley strung together back-to-back base hits, with Fayetteville loading the bases when Mendez clipped Pena with a pitch. Miguelangel Sierra slapped a fly ball deep into right field, allowing for Stevenson to score on the sacrifice. Julks followed with his second RBI single of the day, knocking home Hensley to make it 5-2 Fayetteville moving into the top of the fifth.
The Woodpeckers made a pitching change for the next frame, sending out Leovanny Rodriguez (7-2) for his team high 32nd appearance out of the bullpen. The Fayetteville reliever gave up a leadoff single to Huff, allowing him to score on an RBI base hits with two outs from Arias. Rodriguez struck out JP Martinez to end the inning, limiting the damage and keeping the Woodpeckers in the lead. Neither team added another run for the remainder of the game, with the contest turning into a bit of a pitchers duel. Leovanny Rodriguez finished out his outing pitching two and two thirds of one run ball, getting lifted with two away in the top of the seventh. Riley Kabral entered with a runner on, loading the bases after giving up back-to-back singles, but ended the inning and left all three stranded by fanning JP Martinez. Kabral followed up by pitching a stellar the top of the eighth in which the bullpen arm fanned all three batters he faced.
Offensively the Woodpeckers struck out seven times after the bottom of the fourth, only knocking three more hits for the the rest of the game against Down East relievers Josh Advocate and Francisco Villegas. The closest Fayetteville came to adding another run was in the bottom of the ninth when the Woodpeckers put runners at the corners with just one out. Villegas sent down both Pena and Hensley to end the inning and keep it a two run Woodpeckers lead for the top of the ninth.
In the final half inning Humberto Castellanos climbed the hill for Fayetteville, allowing one baserunner on a walk drawn by Sam Huff. The Woodpeckers reliever was unfazed ending the game by retiring Curtis Terry and Franklin Rollin to secure a 5-3 Fayetteville victory. The Woodpeckers move to 59-61 on the year while Down East falls to 80-40. Fayetteville picks up their first win against the Wood Ducks and their fourth straight win after a sweep of Winston Salem. The Woodpeckers look to make it five in a row tomorrow in game two against Down East. First pitch from Segra Stadium is set for 7:00pm.
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].
