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Woodpeckers Suffer Eleventh Walk-Off Loss

Fayetteville Blows Ninth-Inning Lead, Falls in Tenth
(JOSEPH DWYER )
July 10, 2019

The endgame woes seem to never end for the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, as Fayetteville suffered their eleventh walk-off loss this season, falling once again to the Potomac Nationals, 7-6 in ten innings. Fayetteville held two separate leads of multiple runs in the series finale, including a two-run lead with two outs

The endgame woes seem to never end for the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, as Fayetteville suffered their eleventh walk-off loss this season, falling once again to the Potomac Nationals, 7-6 in ten innings. Fayetteville held two separate leads of multiple runs in the series finale, including a two-run lead with two outs in the ninth inning, but still could not hold on. Three Woodpeckers hit three home runs at Pfitzner stadium, but still came up short.

After a scoreless first inning from both sides, Fayetteville struck first in the second inning on a solo home run by Miguelangel Sierra toward right field. The lead was quickly lost, however, when Shawn Dubin walked a batter, threw a wild pitch, and surrendered a single to Gilbert Lara, tying the game at one in the second inning.
Hoping to continue scoring against Nick Raquet, Fayetteville used another long ball to rebuild their lead. After the Woodpeckers drew a couple of baserunners in the fourth inning, Enmanuel Valdez drilled another blast toward right-center field to break the tie.
With the lead at three runs, Dubin locked in for a pair of innings before being hurt in the fifth. With two outs and only one runner on base in the fifth, Dubin allowed consecutive RBI doubles to make it a one-run game before he needed to be lifted. Relieving Dubin, Joey Gonzalez allowed a game-tying single against the first batter he faced before he closed the inning.
While the lead may have been lost, the Fayetteville offense still did not relent when needing to once again rebuild a lead. Against Major League rehabber Kyle Barraclough, Jacob Meyers led off the sixth inning with a go-ahead solo home run in his first game back from a stint on the Injured List, and Jake Adams later bought some insurance with an RBI single in the eighth inning.
Working in the tandem, Brett Conine was tasked to toss the final four innings of the game for Fayetteville, and the right-hander found himself into trouble all day, including stranding the bases loaded in the seventh inning, and runners at first base and second base in the eighth. Opening the ninth, Conine allowed a walk and a double to put the game-tying run at second base. Conine rallied to strike out the next two batters, but he was lifted before he got a chance at the final out of the game. Miguel Figueroa entered the game for his Woodpeckers debut, but immediately allowed a single to left field by Jakson Reetz to tie the game.
Heading to the tenth, Fayetteville failed to even advance their designated runner in scoring position against reliever Frankie Bartow (W, 1-2) and Cesar Rosado (L, 2-5) was unable to strand Potomac's runner in the bottom of the frame, when Gage Canning advanced on a sacrifice, and scored on a fielder's choice.
Eleven of the twenty-four road losses for Fayetteville this season have been walk-off losses, as Fayetteville has been walked-off by Potomac now three times this season. While Fayetteville still finished the road trip with three wins and two losses, they will try to forget the losses when they return to Segra Stadium for a six-game home stand. Nivaldo Rodriguez will take the mound for Fayetteville when they welcome the Winston-Salem Dash, with first pitch scheduled 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].