Woodpeckers Silence Dash

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers earned their seventh shutout of the year thanks to two decisive pitching performances from Jojanse Torres and Tanner Duncan in the win over the Winston-Salem Dash. Fayetteville notched four runs over the course of the first four innings, highlighted by a two RBI double from Jeremy Pena and an RBI triple from Ross Adolph. The contributions from two of the Woodpeckers newest faces helped Fayetteville soar to a 4-0 victory, taking their first rubber match in three tries this season.  

Jojanse Torres (3-0) started the night for the Woodpeckers by pitching a scoreless frame, including catching Tyler Frost looking on a 99 mph fastball. The Fayetteville offense struck first after Jeremy Pena opened the bottom of the first by crushing a triple to center field that put a runner 90 feet away for the Woodpeckers. Corey Julks followed with a walk and then Jake Adams drove in Pena with a fielder's choice that made it 1-0 and gave Adams his 56th RBI of the year.  
Torres threw another scoreless frame in the second, despite loading the bases on a walk, fielder's choice and another walk, the Woodpeckers hurler locked in and retired Tyler Frost to keep it 1-0 going into the bottom of the second. The next frame saw two more scores come through for the Woodpeckers starting with an infield single from Michael Papierski. The Fayetteville DH won out a foot race with JJ Muno to first in order to reach safely and then moved all the way to third on a wild pitch. Dash starter Zach Lewis (5-4) forced Enmanuel Valdez and Scott Manea to fly out for the first two outs of the game, but then Ross Adolph drew a base on balls to put runners at the corners fo the Woodpeckers. Jeremy Pena is cleared the bases when he crushed his second extra base-hit of the game, scoring Papierski and Adolph on a double off the wall in center. The two-bagger made it five RBIs in his short Woodpeckers stint so far and also put Fayetteville up 3-0 after just two innings of play.  
Torres continued to dominate on the mound, pitching his final two innings scoreless, allowing just one more hit through the fifth inning. The Woodpeckers hurler allowed just three hits total on the night and fanned three batters in the start. The Woodpeckers offense on the other hand, tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth, with Enmanuel Valdez starting the action with an one out double. Now with two outs, Ross Adolph smashed a triple to left field that drove Valdez in and gave the Woodpeckers a 4-0 lead. In Adolph's sixth game with the Woodpeckers he tallied his second RBI of the year, having already launched a solo shot in Potomac.  
The offense stalled for both teams after the Valdez score, Tanner Duncan took over on the mound for the Woodpeckers in the the sixth. The Fayetteville reliever struck out Jameson Fisher right away with a nasty slider and then followed by forcing Zach Remillard into a ground out. Craig Dedelow did draw a walk, but Duncan settled in and retired JJ Muno for the final out of the frame to keep the shutout going. Zach Lewis really locked in on the mound for Winston-Salem, retiring the next seven batters he faced through the sixth inning including striking out four Woodpeckers batters. With rain on the horizon the Winston-Salem offense came up to bat in the top of the seventh with Tanner Duncan still on the mound. The Fayetteville bullpen arm fanned Yeyson Yrizarri and also sent down Evan Skoug for two away in the frame. Tyler Frost followed by smacking a two out double to right field, but the game was then sent into a rain delay. The weather proved too much to continue on and Frost was left stranded for good in the rain shortened contest that Fayetteville won 4-0.
The Woodpeckers move to 42-49 on year and 11-11 in the second half. The Dash on the other hand are 48-39 on the season and 10-13 in the second half. The Woodpeckers won their second series in a row against the Dash and move on to face Potomac in a three game tilt starting tomorrow. First pitch is set 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].