Salem Starts 12-Game Homestand with Big Win Over Fayetteville
SALEM, Va. – There’s not much more you can ask for to start a 12-game homestand than with a 10-run win. That’s exactly what happened for the Salem Red Sox (10-11) as they took down the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (9-12) in dominant fashion winning 12-2. However, the night didn’t start in
SALEM, Va. – There’s not much more you can ask for to start a 12-game homestand than with a 10-run win. That’s exactly what happened for the Salem Red Sox (10-11) as they took down the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (9-12) in dominant fashion winning 12-2.
However, the night didn’t start in the Red Sox favor as Zachary Cole drew a two-out walk for the Woodpeckers in the first inning as Narbe Cruz swept up launching his second home run of the season to left field for a quick 2-0 advantage for the visitors.
Salem didn’t wait long to strike back. In the bottom of the inning, three straight Sox reached via walks surrendered by Fayetteville starter Alimber Santa. Luis Ravelo tied it on Salem’s first base hit of the evening. Three batters later Lyonell James drove in Ravelo and gave the Red Sox the lead and they didn’t look back.
Salem would tack on a run in the second, and two more in the seventh but really poured on the insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth scoring six.
Batting around in the inning, Salem used an RBI double from Cutter Coffey and a bases-loaded 3 RBI double from Luis Ravelo in a Player of the Night performance.
On the pitching side, Salem starter Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz impressed on the bump dealing five innings only allowing the single scoring play on the Woodpeckers’ first-inning home run. Rodriguez-Cruz dealt most batters a first-pitch strike and used his defense in the winning effort.
For Fayetteville, Alimber Santa could not survive the first-inning offensive onslaught from Salem, but it was reliever Jose Fleury who really impressed pitching four innings of relief only allowing one hit and striking out eight Salem batters.
The night was a big one across the Roanoke Valley as not only did Salem pull off the series-opening win over the Woodpeckers, but the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs of the Southern Professional Hockey League took home the league championship in overtime scoring the game-winning goal just after the final out was recorded at Salem Memorial Ballpark igniting a second chorus of cheers from the hometown crowd.
The Red Sox and Woodpeckers meet for five more games this series which include a variety of promotions including Star Wars Night on May 4th, and Cinco de Mayo Night on May 5th. The next game takes place on Wednesday night, first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Location: Salem Memorial Ballpark
First Pitch: 7:05 p.m.
Time of Game: 2:34