Crawdads Clip Woodpeckers 5-4
Hickory, NC- The Crawdads jumped out to a four-run advantage and held on late to defeat the Fayetteville Woodpeckers 5-4 on Wednesday night at LP Frans Stadium. Seong-Jun Kim made his third start for the Crawdads, as Hickory looked to keep their momentum going against a Fayetteville team that suffered
Hickory, NC- The Crawdads jumped out to a four-run advantage and held on late to defeat the Fayetteville Woodpeckers 5-4 on Wednesday night at LP Frans Stadium.
Seong-Jun Kim made his third start for the Crawdads, as Hickory looked to keep their momentum going against a Fayetteville team that suffered their first loss in fourteen games the previous night.
For Hickory, it wouldn't take long to get on the board, as the Crawdads plated two unearned runs in the third inning off Woodpeckers' starter Juan Fraide.
Paulino Santana singled home Kaden Carpenter on a ball that didn't get out of the infield grass. Carpenter's hustle forced an errant throw to the plate, with Carpenter's tally giving Hickory the 2-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, Jay McQueen and Brandon Crabtree drove home runs with base knocks to inflate the Crawdads advantage to 4-0.
After Fayetteville got on the scoreboard in the sixth with an RBI base-hit from Logan Hughes, Yolfran Castillo had the offensive highlight of the evening for Hickory (79-47, 45-17), as the shortstop drove a ball to the right field corner for a triple.
On the play, however, the throw squirted through the infield, allowing Castillo to score, giving the 'Dads a 5-1 lead.
On many nights, the rest of the game would be academic.
But Fayetteville won the North Division's second-half for a reason. That reason came in the seventh, as Fayetteville rallied for a three-run frame to trim the lead to 5-4.
Nick Janssen called on two of his bullpen stalwarts to secure the win on Wednesday night, as JD McReynolds and Louis Marinaro closed out the contest with 2.2 innings of hitless relief, punching out four Fayetteville batters.
Marinaro converted his eighth save in as many attempts with a perfect ninth, allowing Jake Barbee (1-0) to claim his first win of the season.
Fraide was the losing pitcher for Fayetteville (71-55, 39-22), as the Woodpeckers have dropped the first two contests in the clash of playoff-bound teams.
Tomorrow, Evan Siary is set to take the hill for Hickory, who will look to extend their season-high winning streak to thirteen at the Frans, with first pitch set for 7pm.