Big Charleston Fourth Inning Sinks Woodpeckers

Fayetteville, NC - Despite taking an early lead Thursday night at Segra Stadium, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers were unable to overcome a six-run fourth inning from the Charleston RiverDogs. Charleston took the third of six games by a 12-3 final score to pull back ahead in the series.

The headline going into the game for Fayetteville was Houston Astros RHP Josh James getting the start as a part of his rehabilitation assignment from a lat muscle injury. James made quick work of the top third of the RiverDogs lineup, striking out the side in order on just 12 pitches.

The Woodpeckers were held scoreless over the first two innings by Charleston starter Cole Wilcox, but broke through offensively in the bottom of the third against reliever Daiveyon Whittle. Jackson Loftin led off the frame with a controversial triple that appeared to bounce out of play, but ultimately remained a three-bagger. Zach Cole was then hit by a pitch before stealing second base. With Jacob Melton at the plate, Whittle uncorked a wild pitch to the backstop allowing Loftin to score the game’s opening run. A passed ball brought in Cole to make it 2-0 and Collin Price drove in Melton on an RBI single to cap off a three-run third.

With A.J. Blubaugh (L, 0-1) on the mound making his debut for Fayetteville, the RiverDogs got into a rhythm offensively. The first five batters of the inning recorded base hits, including an RBI double from Brock Jones and a two-run single from Oneill Manzueta that tied the game at three. Alejandro Pie was retired on a groundout, but Manzueta scored to push Charleston ahead, 4-3. Carson Williams and Willy Vasquez added a pair of RBI singles to push the Riverdogs ahead by three after entering the inning down by three.

Shea Barry took over for Blubaugh in the fifth inning. Jones drew a leadoff walk against Barry and came in to score two batters later thanks to an RBI triple from Julio Meza, his third extra base hit of the contest. Meza dashed home on a wild pitch from Barry to bring the Charleston lead to 8-3. In the seventh, Junior Caminero was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Vasquez ripped a two-run double to tack on three more for the visitors. The RiverDogs added one final run in the ninth inning against Jayson Schroeder when Jones walked with the bases loaded.

There was a bright spot in the tough loss for the Woodpeckers as Ryan Clifford put together a historic Single-A debut. Clifford reached base five times and walked four times, becoming the first Fayetteville player to draw four walks in a game since July 2019.

The Woodpeckers aim to even the series back up on Friday night as RHP Nic Swanson gets the start. The RiverDogs counter with RHP J.J. Goss. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET.

FULL BOX SCORE: https://www.milb.com/gameday/669587/final/box