Big First Inning Leads Woodpeckers to Mother's Day Win

Fayetteville, NC - The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (13-20) fended off a late Wilson Warbirds (15-18) comeback to close out the six-game homestand with a 7-6 win on Mother's Day inside SEGRA Stadium. The win secured a series split between the two ball clubs.

Trailing 1-0 after a solo shot from Handelfry Encarnacion off Aubrey Smith, the Woodpeckers put together a five-run first inning. Xavier Neyens got things started with a RBI single, Juan Sierra provided the lead with a hit, and Arturo Flores capped off the inning with a three-run homer to right field for the 5-1 lead.

The Warbirds tied the game by scoring four in the third inning. Kevin Garcia supplied a sacrifice fly, followed by a Filippo Di Turi RBI Single, and Luis Lameda capped the rally with a two-run single off Charlie Weber (W, 1-1) for the 5-5 tie.

The Woodpeckers retook the lead in the bottom half of the fifth inning with a Juan Sierra single to give Fayetteville the 6-5 advantage off of Warbirds pitcher Thomas Conrad ( L, 2-2) . Carlos Cauro then tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, scoring Neyens on a groundout to make it 7-5.

Jesus Carrera (S, 1) came out of the Fayetteville bullpen in the seventh and worked through a three inning save, retiring eight batters in a row. The Warbirds managed to salvage a run in the top of the ninth with a single from Juan Ortuno that made it 7-6. Carrera then ended the ball game punching out Kevin Garcia and leaving the tying run stranded on second.

The Woodpeckers will have an off-day tomorrow before beginning a six-game road series with the Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles affiliate). The first game is set for Tuesday at 11:05 a.m. Starting pitchers have yet to be announced.

Full Box Score: https://www.milb.com/gameday/827270/final/box