Kannapolis Drops Third Game of the Week against Fayetteville, 6-5, Friday Night
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – After a late push in the eighth inning from the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers fell victim again in the form of a loss, 6-5, Friday night at Atrium Health Ballpark. LHP Noah Schultz impressed in his professional debut, tossing two shutout innings, and striking out
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – After a late push in the eighth inning from the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers fell victim again in the form of a loss, 6-5, Friday night at Atrium Health Ballpark.
LHP Noah Schultz impressed in his professional debut, tossing two shutout innings, and striking out five, allowing just one baserunner in the form of a double from Zach Cole. RHP Mason Adams ate through the majority of innings on the mound, firing 5.1 innings, allowing three runs, one earned, five hits, and striking out five with no walks.
A wild pitch from Fayetteville starter Nic Swanson put Kannapolis on the board in the bottom of the third, with Jordan Sprinkle crossing the plate and sent the Ballers to a 1-0 lead.
Dauri Lorenzo turned the tides in the top of the fourth, launching a two-run home run to hand the Woodpeckers a 2-1.
Kannapolis answered quickly in the bottom of the fourth, tying the game in the bottom of the fourth on a Johnabiell Laureano RBI single, scoring Javier Mora and knotting the game at 2-2 after four innings. The ballgame flipped leads yet again in the bottom of the seventh with a Luis Pineda two-RBI single, pushing the Ballers ahead 4-2.
The fourth and final lead change occurred in the top of the eighth, with the Woodpeckers rallying for four runs. John Garcia’s RBI single and a bases-clearing Sandro Gaston RBI double put Fayetteville in the driver’s seat, 6-4.
Sprinkle put together a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth, scoring Logan Glass to inch the Ballers closer to 6-5. Despite the late efforts, Kannapolis failed to comeback, falling for the third time in the week.
Postgame fireworks will light the night sky after the fifth of six games this week between Kannapolis and Fayetteville on Saturday night. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. with RHP Tanner McDougal due for a start on the mound.
Fans can purchase tickets for Saturday’s game or any remaining home games at kcballers.com or at the F&M Bank Box Office located at Atrium Health Ballpark.