Woodpeckers Throw One-Hitter in Win Over Red Sox

SALEM, Va. – After dropping the first two games of the series the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (10-13) dominated in all facets of the game: hitting, pitching, and fielding in a 7-0 win over the Salem Red Sox (11-12).

Salem’s starter, Jose Ramirez, had a quality outing going five innings only allowing two hits, and three walks, while striking out six. He gave up just two runs, both unearned off errors in the field.

Things didn’t get much better in the field for the Red Sox as the hosts committed four errors in the field allowing the first four runs of the game to score for the Woodpeckers unearned.

Fayetteville finally seemed to figure itself out offensively in the last third of the ballgame stringing together baserunners to score two in the seventh off a sac fly and a Zach Cole RBI single.

In the ninth, the Woodpeckers scratched across more than enough insurance with another RBI hit from Cole, and a two-RBI single from Ricardo Balogh to push the lead up to seven.

However, the story of the game was the pitching for the Woodpeckers. Fayetteville threw Nolan DeVos out on the bump who absolutely shoved. The 22-year-old right-hander pitched five innings without allowing a single hit to the Red Sox as the first phase of the game was a pitcher’s duel on both sides.

Only throwing two pitchers on the night Fayetteville pulled Trey Dombroski out of the bullpen to finish off the Red Sox in the final four innings of the ballgame. Dombroski kept the momentum going, not allowing a single batter to reach in his first three innings of work.

Heading into the ninth, the eyes of Minor League Baseball were on Salem as the Woodpeckers were just three outs away from the combined no-hitter in front of a Red Sox crowd. However, the first batter of the inning, Albert Feliz, roped the first pitch he saw to left field dropping it right in front of left-fielder Ryan Clifford for the first and only hit of the ballgame for the Red Sox.

The baserunner did not last for long as Feliz tried to stretch the hit into a double, being easily thrown out by the fourth-best prospect in the Astros organization according to MLB.com. Dombroski picked up right where he left off striking out the next two batters bringing his total on the night to seven and securing the win for Fayetteville in an all-around dominant performance on the night for the visitors.

The Red Sox still lead the series two games to one over the Woodpeckers, and the two play three games this series with the next being on Friday night with the first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. from Salem Memorial Ballpark. Friday night is Cinco de Mayo night at the ballpark with Mexican-themed promotions happening throughout the ballpark as well as Teacher Appreciation Night. Teachers, make sure to bring your school ID to the front gates for one (1) free upper level ticket.

Location: Salem Memorial Ballpark

First Pitch: 7:05 p.m.

Time of Game: 2:16