‘Cats Win Second Straight, 5-3 versus Fayetteville
ZEBULON – Micah Bello broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh with a go-ahead two-run single as the Mudcats erased another late deficit while winning their second straight 5-3 versus Fayetteville on Wednesday night at Five County Stadium. Reliever Joey Matulovich picked up the victory after entering in the sixth
ZEBULON – Micah Bello broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh with a go-ahead two-run single as the Mudcats erased another late deficit while winning their second straight 5-3 versus Fayetteville on Wednesday night at Five County Stadium. Reliever Joey Matulovich picked up the victory after entering in the sixth and pitching through three and 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts.
The victory was Carolina’s second straight when trailing after the sixth, giving the Mudcats a 2-0 start to the season. The Woodpeckers (0-2), meanwhile, suffered the loss despite leading late and out-homering (Ronaldo Urdaneta, solo homer in the eighth) the Mudcats for the second straight night.
Carolina trailed 1-0 going into the game changing seventh, but that changed when Joe Gray Jr. used his first hit of the season to both tie the game and set the table ahead of Bello’s, bases loaded, go-ahead two-run single. Both hits came off reliever Alfredi Jimenez and came with heavy rain falling at Five County Stadium. Jimenez (0-1) ended up with the loss after allowing three runs on four hits over two and 2/3.
Matulovich (1-0) worked around a home run from Urdaneta in the eighth and a RBI double from Luke Berryhill in the ninth while earning the victory. Matulovich entered the game in the sixth and began his outing with seven straight outs, including four strikeouts over his first two innings. He was later followed by Evan Reifert who finished the game with back-to-back strikeouts and a save in his pro debut. Caden Lemons started and finished with four walks and four strikeouts over four plus innings. Reliever Miguel Guerrero inherited two runners from Lemons in the fifth and ended up allowing one to score on a wild pitch. Guerrero quickly recovered with a couple of strikeouts in what was his first outing as a professional.
HOME RUNS:
Fayetteville HR : Urdaneta (1, 8th inning off Matulovich, 0 on, 1 out).
TOP PERFORMERS - BATTERS:
Urdaneta, 2B (Fayetteville): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Rodriguez, Ne, DH (Fayetteville): 0-for-1, 1 R, 3 BB
Holt, 2B (Carolina): 2-for-4, 1 R
Bello, LF (Carolina): 1-for-4, 2 RBI
McGee, 3B-1B (Carolina): 1-for-3, 2 R
TOP PERFORMERS - PITCHERS:
Lemons (Carolina): 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO
Guerrero (Carolina): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
Matulovich (W, 1-0) (Carolina): 3.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO
Reifert (S, 1) (Carolina): 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO
Moclair (Fayetteville): 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO
Mezquita (Fayetteville): 1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO
SCORING:
Woodpeckers 5th (Woodpeckers 1, Mudcats 0) -- Cody Orr walks. Adonis Giron doubles to right field, Cody Orr to 3rd. Pitcher Change: Miguel Guerrero replaces Caden Lemons. Wild pitch by Miguel Guerrero, Cody Orr scores; Adonis Giron to 3rd. Luis Guerrero struck out looking. Ronaldo Urdaneta struck out looking. Matthew Barefoot flies out to Joey Wiemer.
(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB)
Mudcats 7th (Mudcats 3, Woodpeckers 1) -- Ashton McGee singles to left-center field. Arbert Cipion grounds out, J.C. Correa to Yeuris Ramirez, Ashton McGee to 2nd. Gabe Holt hit by pitch. Noah Campbell hit by pitch, Ashton McGee to 3rd; Gabe Holt to 2nd. Joe Gray Jr. singles to center field, Ashton McGee scores; Gabe Holt to 3rd; Noah Campbell to 2nd. Micah Bello singles to left-center field, Gabe Holt scores; Noah Campbell scores; Micah Bello out at 1st, Yeuris Ramirez, Joe Gray Jr. to 2nd. Joey Wiemer reaches on fielding error by J.C. Correa. Pitcher Change: Cristofer Mezquita replaces Alfredi Jimenez. Felix Valerio grounds out, J.C. Correa to Yeuris Ramirez.
(3 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Errors, 2 LOB)
Woodpeckers 8th (Mudcats 3, Woodpeckers 2) -- Luis Guerrero strikes out swinging. Ronaldo Urdaneta hits a home run to left-center field on a 1-0 pitch. Matthew Barefoot strikes out swinging. J.C. Correa strikes out swinging.
(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB)
Mudcats 8th (Mudcats 5, Woodpeckers 2) -- Alex Hall grounds out, Ronaldo Urdaneta to Yeuris Ramirez. Ashton McGee walks. Arbert Cipion singles through the hole at second base, Ashton McGee to 2nd. Gabe Holt flies out to Matthew Barefoot. Noah Campbell reaches on fielding error by Ronaldo Urdaneta, Ashton McGee scores; Arbert Cipion to 3rd. Noah Campbell steals 2nd base, Arbert Cipion scores; throwing error by Luke Berryhill. Joe Gray Jr. grounds out, J.C. Correa to Yeuris Ramirez.
(2 Runs, 1 Hits, 2 Errors, 1 LOB)
Woodpeckers 9th (Mudcats 5, Woodpeckers 3) -- Nerio Rodriguez walks. Yeuris Ramirez strikes out on foul tip. Luke Berryhill doubles to left field, Nerio Rodriguez scores. Pitcher Change: Evan Reifert replaces Joey Matulovich. Cody Orr strikes out swinging.
(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB)