Woodpeckers Plate Ten Behind Bullpen Dominance in Series Winner
Myrtle Beach, SC – The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (2-1) hung another ten-spot on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (1-2) Sunday night to grab the rubber match of the three-game series in a 10-2 final at Pelicans Ballpark. The scoring spree was generated by 14 total hits and also aided along by six
Myrtle Beach, SC – The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (2-1) hung another ten-spot on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (1-2) Sunday night to grab the rubber match of the three-game series in a 10-2 final at Pelicans Ballpark. The scoring spree was generated by 14 total hits and also aided along by six Myrtle Bench defensive errors.
A three-run top of the fourth broke up a 1-1 tie and put Fayetteville ahead for the remainder of the night. Fernando Caldera drove home the first run with an RBI single, and two more crossed when Anthony Sherwin’s grounder to first base slipped under Drew Bowser’s glove and rolled all the way into the right field corner.
Fayetteville starter Alain Pena cashed in the longest start of the weekend, working into the fourth inning and gathering five strikeouts on 56 total pitches.
Nine batters stepped to the plate in the top of the seventh, stringing together a four-run rally that put the game on ice. Juan Santander and Yamal Encarnacion both drove home runs on singles, and Caldera plated another when his grounder to third was booted by Christopher Paciolla. Four of Fayetteville’s ten runs were unearned due to Pelicans fielding blunders.
Yeriel Santos (W, 1-0) and Abel Mercedes combined for five scoreless innings out of the bullpen to close the game. Santos took on the bulk of the work with four scoreless, marking the longest outing for an arm this season, and struck out six Pelican hitters. The 21-year-old Mercedes shut the door in the ninth, registering a 99 MPH fastball with his final pitch of the night that struck out Christian Olivo.
The Woodpeckers will be off on Monday before returning to Segra Stadium Tuesday for their home opener against the Charleston RiverDogs at 6:05 PM. Starting pitchers are TBA. Live scoring and the home broadcast of Tuesday’s game will be available at fayettevillewoodpeckers.com, through the MiLB App, and MiLB.tv. Tickets are available at https://www.milb.com/fayetteville/tickets/single-game-tickets
Full Box Score: https://www.milb.com/gameday/753750/final/box