Fermin’s Walk-Off Walk Lifts RidgeYaks Past Woodpeckers, 4-3 in Instant Classic

SALEM, Va. – The Salem RidgeYaks (46-59, 21-19) rallied late and walked it off with a 4-3 victory over the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (53-51, 21-18) on Friday night at Carilion Clinic Field.

With the game tied at 3-3 entering the ninth, Jose Bello turned a magnificent 1-4-3 double play to get out of the top of the ninth untouched and allowed the offense to go to work in the bottom of the ninth.

Kleyver Salazar opened the ninth by getting hit by a pitch before Givian Sirvania entered as a pinch-runner. Louis Andujar followed with a single to put runners on first and second. A walk to Avinson Pinto set the table for Anderson Fermin.

The switch-hitting left fielder saw the count move to 3-0, took two straight strikes, but the sixth pitch was a fastball high and wide for ball four to send the fans home happy.

Fermin finished the night 2-for-4 with three RBI, while Pinto also delivered a key RBI. Andujar and Skylar King each collected a pair of hits. Salem finished with eight hits and nine walks as a team.

The RidgeYaks jumped in front in the second when Fermin singled home Andujar, who had drawn a walk earlier in the inning. Salem added another run in the fourth when Pinto lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Salazar.

After Fayetteville tied the game with two runs in the fifth on a Logan Hughes single, Salem reclaimed the lead in the sixth. Pinto opened the inning with a double before Fermin followed with a single to bring him home.

The Woodpeckers answered with a run in the eighth on Waner Luciano’s double, setting up the ninth-inning drama.

On the mound, Sadbiel Delzine turned in another strong outing, allowing just two hits and no runs while striking out five over 3.2 innings. Bello then followed with 5.1 innings of relief, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out three to earn the win (2-4).

Salem also played clean defense, turning two crucial double plays to get out of the seventh and ninth innings while committing no errors.

Salem jumps back to just a half game back of first place and has clinched at least a share of this six-game series.

The RidgeYaks will look to take the series on Saturday night in the penultimate game of the set at Carilion Clinic Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. as RHP Leighton Finley makes the start.

Game Notes

• Salem recorded its third walk-off win of the season and its first since June 28
• Anderson Fermin’s walk-off walk marks the first walk-off not by Starlyn Nunez since July 20, 2025, vs. Fayetteville (Natanael Yuten single)
• Fermin finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI, tying his career high in runs batted in
• Fermin is now 3-for-7 (.428) with five RBI and three walks over the last two nights and in his two games played this series
• All four of Salem’s RBI came from the seven and eight holes (Pinto and Fermin)
• Sadbiel Delzine saw his third no-decision in his RidgeYaks career. The right-hander now lowers his ERA to 1.50 while striking out 16 over 12 innings since his July 21 promotion
• Jose Bello went 5.1 innings for just the third time in his professional career
• Skylar King went 2-for-5 for his 18th multi-hit game this season
• Louis Andujar went 2-for-5 to extend his on-base streak to 11 games
• Andujar has now hit safely in 20 of his last 26 games since June 27
• Franklin Primera’s first-inning single extends his on-base streak to 16 games and his hitting streak to seven games
• In two games facing Woodpeckers reliever Leomar Rosario this week, the Yaks have drawn seven walks and tagged Rosario with three runs in his 2.2 innings of work
• Kleyver Salazar’s ninth-inning hit by pitch marks the fifth game in the last six in which Salem has been hit by a pitch and the 11th time by a Woodpecker this week
• Salem now moves to 11-20 in one-run ballgames this season
• Salem went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded 15 men on base, the most in a game this year
• The RidgeYaks sit 0.5 game out of first place with two games left to play in the series
• Salem has clinched at least a share of its 11th different series this season

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