Woodpeckers Seal Series on Second 1-0 Shutout of Augusta

Fayetteville, NC - The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (25-26) grabbed their second 1-0 shoutout of the week Sunday afternoon to lock up a series victory over the Augusta GreenJackets (20-30) at Segra Stadium. The pitching tandem of RHP Ethan Pecko and RHP Jackson Nezuh shutdown the GreenJackets, working all nine innings and striking out 13 along the way.

It was a milestone victory for Manager Ricky Rivera, setting the new franchise record for managerial wins with his 85th since taking over as head of the club in 2023.

Pecko extended from his stellar month of May with another shutdown performance on the mound. The 21-year-old righty tied a season-high with nine strikeouts over four innings and only allowed four to reach on three hits and one walk.

He was handed the lead in the top of the third as Fayetteville generated the only run of the game. Alberto Hernandez reached on a fielding error from second baseman Luis Sanchez and scored when Kenni Gomez doubled into the right field corner for the 1-0 lead.

The loss went to RHP Cade Kuehler (L, 1-5). Kuehler, a Campbell University alum, put together a strong performance on the mound. The 22-year-old is a top ten prospect for Atlanta and pitched five innings allowing one unearned run, two walks and three strikeouts.

RHP Jackson Nezuh (W, 4-3) would enter the fifth inning and pick up where Pecko left off. The Augusta native pitched five innings, only allowing a hit, one walk to go along with four strikeouts. Nezuh closed the game out for Fayetteville striking out Augusta’s Cam Magee for the game’s final out.

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are now tied for second in the Carolina League South Division with the Columbia Fireflies. The Woodpeckers will have the day off Monday and travel down to Columbia, South Carolina for a pivotal six game road series starting on Tuesday at 7:05pm.

Full Box Score: https://www.milb.com/gameday/753991/final/box