Woodpeckers Fall in Consecutive Walk Offs for Second Time

For the second consecutive game, The Fayetteville Woodpeckers surrendered a lead after the sixth inning and were eventually walked off in extra innings, once again by a 4-3 final on Thursday night against the Winston-Salem Dash. The sixth time that Fayetteville has been served a walk off loss, it is also the second time that Fayetteville has been served consecutive walk off loses, the first being their doubleheader against the Frederick Keys earlier in May. While some offensive pieces struggled for Fayetteville, Jake Adams notched his eighth home run of the season, and Colton Shaver extended his hit streak to a career-long eight games.

Fayetteville was quick to pounce on Dash starter John Parke, as four of the first five batters in the frame collected base hits, including RBI doubles from both Adams and Shaver to notch an early 2-0 lead. Parke, a quick-working southpaw, was able to stifle bats from that point, allowing only scattered base hits over the next four innings to keep the score. After that first inning, Parke never worked with more than one runner on base for the rest of his night, and Fayetteville did not have multiple runners on base again until the tenth inning.
Working with a lead from his first pitch, JP France delivered one of his best outings of the season. The right-hander allowed only one hit, a bunt single, over his first four innings, and never worked with multiple runners on base. While France did eventually allow a solo home run in the fifth inning, he departed the contest in line for a win. Repaying France for his efforts, Jake Adams delivered a parting gift for the pitcher in the form of a solo home run ripped into left-center field, pushing the lead back to two runs. Now with eight homers on the season, Adams is tied for second in the League, still behind former Woodpecker Seth Beer.
Relieving France was Jojanse Torres, a Dominican righty recently promoted from Single-A Quad Cities. Burning up the radar gun with fastballs that hit 98 MPH, Torres logged a pair of punchouts in a scoreless sixth inning to maintain the lead. The seventh inning was less kind to Torres, as he allowed a walk and two base hits, scoring a run for the Dash and putting runners at the corners with one out. On a ball hit softly to third by Yeyson Yrizarri, a potential play at the plate was lost when the throw home was slightly up the line, allowing the tying run to score.
Having blown the save, Torres was forced to start from scratch, and was able to keep the Dash off the board for the remainder of his day. As the Fayetteville offense fell quiet at a crucial point in the tie game, Torres and Nick Hernandez were able to keep Winston-Salem away from home for the next two frames and force extra innings for the second game in a row.
In the extra frame, Fayetteville could not scratch Zach Lewis, as they once again failed to score their tiebreaking runner from second base. Lewis (W, 3-2) polished off the inning with a pair of strikeouts to earn the win.
Hernandez continued on the mound for Fayetteville in the bottom half of the tenth and was quickly dealing with the winning run at third base after a sacrifice bunt to open the inning. After as pair of walks, one intentional, Hernandez (L, 0-1) had an opportunity to send it to the eleventh inning with a double play, but a dribbling single just over the pitcher's mound hit by Zach Remillard put the game to rest as Winston-Salem celebrated once again.
Remillard was on the receiving end of both postgame showers, having collected the walk off single in both games. Of the 16 road losses that Fayetteville has suffered this season, six of them have been served in walk off fashion. As the Woodpeckers loom closer toward the end of the first half, they still sit 10 ½ games out of first place, and will have to turn their attention to a North Division foe on Friday, as they start a four-game series with the Lynchburg Hillcats for the backend of their eight-game roadtrip.
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].