The Fayetteville Woodpeckers poured on seven runs over the course of just two innings and Scott Schreiber tallied three RBIs in the Woodpeckers home victory over the Potomac Nationals. The Fayetteville pitching staff earned their sixth shutout of the year and second in this home stand behind a fifteen strikeout
The Fayetteville Woodpeckers poured on seven runs over the course of just two innings and Scott Schreiber tallied three RBIs in the Woodpeckers home victory over the Potomac Nationals. The Fayetteville pitching staff earned their sixth shutout of the year and second in this home stand behind a fifteen strikeout performance. The lopsided 8-0 Saturday night victory gives Fayetteville control of the series with the Nationals 2-1 heading into the series finale.
Woodpeckers starting pitcher JP France allowed two baserunners in the top of the first, giving up a leadoff single to Gage Canning and walking KJ Harrison. The Fayetteville hurler still finished the inning unscathed, striking out two and jamming Alex Dunlap into a pop up in foul territory that ended the frame. In the bottom of the first the Woodpeckers loaded the bases off three straight singles from Jonathan Arauz, Colton Shaver, and Jake Adams. Potomac starter Nick Raquet (5-6) was able to hold off the Woodpeckers for at least the first frame, as Scott Schreiber hit into a 4-2 double play that got Arauz tagged out trying to score.
France continued to deal again in the top of the second, letting the first two batters reach base, but then sent down the Nationals in order to pitch another scoreless frame. The Woodpeckers offense backed France up in the bottom of the second, sending eight batters to the plate and piling on four runs. Chandler Taylor struck out to start the inning, but Scott Manea drew a base on balls to put the go-ahead run on for Fayetteville. Corey Julks followed by reaching on an unsuccessful fielder's choice that moved Manea into scoring position safely. Miguelangel Sierra continued his hot streak at the plate, knocking Manea home with an RBI single to right field. Sierra currently holds a four-game hit streak to go along with two RBIs in the series with Potomac. Corey Julks came home thanks to a standup double from Jacob Meyers out to right field again, making it 2-0. Fayetteville loaded the bases when Jonathan Arauz reached safely due to an error committed by Raquet, putting Jake Adams in a great position to add to his team-high RBI totals. Adams tacked on a pair of RBIs with a line drive on a base hit that scored Meyers and Sierra, making it 4-0 Fayetteville and giving the Woodpecker's slugger 44 RBIs on the year. Adams however was thrown out trying to take an extra base, and the inning ended with Fayetteville up four after just two frames of play.
France stayed on the mound through the fourth allowing just four hits and striking out six in the start. The Woodpeckers sent out Willy Collado for just a single frame in the top of the fifth with the reliever pitching a scoreless inning and not allowing a hit. For Potomac, Raquet held the Woodpeckers scoreless for the next two frames but in the bottom of the fifth the Fayetteville offense came out hot once again. Colton Shaver and Jake Adams drew back-to-back walks to start the inning against the Potomac starter. Scott Schreiber was 0-2 before stepping to the plate with two runners on, slicing a two-bagger to center field that scored both Shaver and Adams and made it 6-0 Woodpeckers. With still nobody out and Schreiber at second the Nationals made a pitching change bringing in Hayden Howard to get all three outs of the frame. Chandler Taylor quickly laced a single to move Schreiber to third, that run coming home thanks to Scott Manea ripped an RBI base hit of his own, making it 7-0 Fayetteville. Howard finally ended the inning by retiring Jules, Sierra, and Meyers in order to limit the Woodpeckers damage to three runs the fifth.
Howard had a three up, three down bottom of the sixth but gave up a leadoff solo shot blasted by Scott Schreiber to start the seventh inning. It was the third homer to start a frame for Schreiber this year and his fourth with the Woodpeckers this season. Nivaldo Rodriguez entered the game in the top of the sixth going the remainder, allowing just one hit to Gage Canning with one out in the top of the ninth. Out of the bullpen, Rodriguez struck out seven Nationals' batters, walking two, and of course allowing no runs. Fayetteville only got one hit for the rest of the game, but the damage was done with Fayetteville riding a shutout to a 8-0 victory.
The Woodpeckers move to 31-37 on the year meanwhile the Nationals fall to 29-37. Fayetteville leads the four game tilt 2-1 heading into the series finale tomorrow. The Woodpeckers have only lost one game this home stand and have a chance to go 6-1 in the seven game stretch on the Sunday matchup. First pitch from Segra Stadium is set for one o'clock.
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].
