Pecko and Nezuh Even Series With Shutout of Mudcats

Fayetteville, NC – The Fayetteville Eighty Deuces (18-13) enjoyed a big night on the mound as Ethan Pecko and Jackson Nezuh combined for a two-hit shutout and a 6-0 victory over the Carolina Mudcats (20-9) Friday at Segra Stadium. It marked the first blanking of the Carolina offense all season and Fayetteville’s third shutout win.

Pecko walked the first two batters of the game but quickly rebounded with a fielder’s choice grounder, a pop out and strikeout to strand two runners. He cruised the rest of the day, allowing a lone single in the fourth inning en route to four scoreless with four strikeouts. The fourth inning single from Juan Baez ended a stretch of seven consecutive hitless innings from Pecko dating back to last Saturday in Delmarva.

Fayetteville led wire-to-wire once Chase Jaworsky delivered a two-run double in the bottom of the first. He lashed a line drive down the left field line off Josh Knoth (L, 0-3) scoring Oliver Carrillo and Anthony Sherwin for the 2-0 lead.

Yamal Encarnacion added to the lead in the bottom of the fifth, hooking a two-run homer down the right field line off Bishop Letson for a 4-0 advantage. Encarnacion has had a scorching hot series at the plate, going 6-for-12 with seven runs scored over three games.

The home-run ball played a factor again in the bottom of the eighth as Oliver Carrillo added insurance with a two-run shot into the left field bullpen for his team-leading fifth of the season.

Nezuh (W, 1-3) carried the lead from the fifth inning forward. The 14th-round pick out of Louisiana-Lafayette went scoreless for the first time all season and equaled his career high with 5.0 innings pitched. He allowed just one hit, a Blayberg Diaz single in the eighth, and retired nine straight hitters at one point. Nezuh closed the game with a perfect ninth inning and punctuated the Eighty Deuces victory with a strikeout of Kay-Lan Nicasia.

The six-game home series continues Saturday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM. The Woodpeckers will transition into their Copa identity, Los Guerreros de Fayetteville, and the first 1,000 fans in the park will receive a Guerreros bucket hat courtesy of Blue Diamond Transportation. The Woodpeckers broadcast can be heard at fayettevillewoodpeckers.com or through the MiLB App and watched online on MiLB.tv.

Full Box Score: https://www.milb.com/gameday/753997/final/box