Fayetteville Silences Wilmington for Second Straight Night

Following their tenth shutout victory of 2019 on Tuesday, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers logged their eleventh less than 24 hours later, as the pitching staff once again blanked the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Wednesday. A nearly silent night offensively, each side combined for only eight hits, all singles, and the lone run of the game was scored on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Jonathan Arauz. Jojanse Torres tossed another six scoreless frames to run his scoreless streak up to 14 innings, tying a franchise record, and Riley Cabral spun three zeros on the back end, starting his Woodpeckers career with 7 1/3 scoreless innings.

A much similar manner to the first game of the series, each side struggled to even create baserunners over the first half of play. Fayetteville managed a pair of singles in the first three innings against Rito Lugo, but those would be the only baserunners Lugo would allow over his six innings of work. Jojanse Torres proved to work in the same fashion, as the flame-throwing right-hander only allowed three base hits over six scoreless innings of his own.
As each side dipped into their bullpen, Fayetteville was finally able to land the first, and only, blow. Against lefty Austin Lambright, Fayetteville came up empty in the seventh inning, but Michael Papierski broke a stretch of 15 consecutive batters retired when he singled to lead off the eighth inning. Woodpeckers batters mixed in a pair of walks around two strikeouts to load the bases, forcing Lambright (L, 0-1) to bepart from the game. After an eight-pitch battle, right-hander Collin Snider walked Jonathan Arauz to open his relief appearance, giving Fayetteville the only run of the game.
With the slim lead finally in hand, Riley Cabral needed to turn quality work to secure the win, and the new Woodpecker delivered. Cabral allowed only one base hit over his three innings of work, and while he allowed a tying run to reach scoring position in the ninth inning on a walk and a stolen base, Cabral (W, 1-0) struck out the final two batters to give Fayetteville the win.
With the shutout in hand, Fayetteville pitching has now tossed 19 consecutive shutout innings, dating back to their series finale with the Carolina Mudcats, and the Blue Rocks offense has been held without a run for 23 consecutive innings. Winners of five straight, Fayetteville builds a two-game lead over the other three teams hunting for playoff contention in the South Division. Fayetteville will try to widen the gap, win their sixth-straight for the first time ever, and log consecutive sweeps for the first time ever as well, when they play the finale with Wilmington on Thursday, Brett Conine is scheduled to get the start at Frawley Stadium, with the first pitch slated for 6:35PM.
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].