Cerny Go-Ahead Grand Slam Leads Fayetteville to Series-Clinching Win 

Salisbury, MD - The Fayetteville Woodpeckers’ hottest hitter came through with the biggest swing of the series Saturday night at Perdue Stadium.

With the game tied in the seventh and final inning, Logan Cerny squared up a 3-1 fastball with the bases loaded for a go-ahead grand slam that proved to be the difference. The Woodpeckers (27-29) stunned the Delmarva Shorebirds (19-37), 6-2 to secure the series win and make it three straight victories. The game was shortened to a seven-inning affair following a two hour rain delay that pushed the start time back to 9:00 PM.

Fayetteville took an early lead after loading the bases in the top of the seventh against Shorebirds starter Shane Davis. Victor Mascai took ball four to walk in a run before Yeuris Ramirez did the same moments later to give the Woodpeckers the 2-0 edge.

Starter Edinson Batista kept Delmarva’s offense in check over the first four innings, keeping the Shorebirds scoreless while allowing just a walk and four hits while fanning five. Nic Swanson (W, 1-2) took over in the fifth inning out of the bullpen and ran into some trouble in his first inning of work. Trendon Craig ripped a one-out, RBI double to left field to cut the lead in half. Two batters later, Mishael Deson singled home Isaac De Leon to tie the ballgame at two. However, Swanson settled down to retire the last two batters of the inning and strand the go-ahead run at third.

After a scoreless sixth inning, Fayetteville came out strong in the seventh. Mascai drew another walk to kick things off before Ramirez singled to put two on with nobody out. Leosdany Molina hit a grounder to third which resulted in Mascai being tagged out, but after a wild pitch from Delmarva reliever Conor Grady (L, 3-4) put both runners in scoring position, the Shorebirds elected to walk Joey Loperfido to load the bases for Cerny. The Woodpeckers outfielder launched his tenth home run of the season—his fourth in the month of June—and pushed his RBI total in the series to a staggering 13 in five games. It was the first grand slam of the season for Fayetteville and their first go-ahead home run in the final inning of a game in 2022.

Swanson went back out for the bottom half and quickly set down all three batters he faced to close things out, earning his first win as a member of the Woodpeckers.

Fayetteville wraps up its series on Sunday in Salisbury, looking to take five of six from Delmarva in what will be the final meeting between the two teams this season. RHP Shea Barry gets the start for the Woodpeckers while RHP Edgar Portes will try to stop the three-game slide for the Shorebirds. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 ET.

GAME BOX SCORE: https://www.milb.com/gameday/669777/final/box