ZEBULON, N.C. - Joantgel Segovia connected on his third home run of the season after hitting a solo shot in the fourth, but his homer accounted for the only Carolina run of the night as the Mudcats fell 6-1 to Fayetteville on Monday at Five County Stadium. Segovia went 2-for-3
ZEBULON, N.C. - Joantgel Segovia connected on his third home run of the season after hitting a solo shot in the fourth, but his homer accounted for the only Carolina run of the night as the Mudcats fell 6-1 to Fayetteville on Monday at Five County Stadium. Segovia went 2-for-3 in the game with a run and a RBI for the Mudcats.
Fayetteville (8-4) led from start to finish in Monday's series opener after scoring twice in the first with run scoring singles from Jake Adams and Jacob Meyers off starter Bowden Francis and the Mudcats (6-6). Francis (1-1, 3.86) walked one and allowed three hits, including a lead off double to Bryan De La Cruz, in the first, but got out of the frame with just two runs allowed after striking out three in the inning. Francis then held the Woodpeckers without a run through the fourth and his offense would capitalize by pulling within one of the lead thanks to Segovia's homer in the fourth.
Segovia's home run came off Fayetteville starter Bryan Abreu and was his third of the season (matching a career high for home runs in a single season). The home run was also Carolina's first hit of the game against Abreu who had retired eight straight and had faced only nine over three no-hit innings before giving up Segovia's opposite field solo shot to right.
The Mudcats were down just one after Segovia's home run, but the Woodpeckers came right back with a two-run homer from Seth Beer in the fifth while extending their lead to 4-1. The home run was Beer's first of the season and came off Francis who had stayed out for the fifth. Francis ended up pitching through five full innings and allowed four runs on five hits while taking the loss. He also walked two and struck out seven while reaching 88 pitches (56 strikes) and facing 22 batters.
Abreu pitched into the fifth for the Woodpeckers, but did not finish the frame. He hit his pitch limit and left after retiring two straight on back-to-back strikeouts to start the fifth and fell an out shy of qualifying for the win. Abreu ended up with 10 strikeouts overall over four and 2/3 innings. He also allowed just one run and one hit while facing 17 and totaling 79 pitches (44 strikes). Reliever Leovanny Rodriguez followed and finished the fifth with a flyout from Devin Hairston. Rodriguez (1-0, 3.38) then worked the sixth and held Carolina without a run, despite allowing two hits in the inning.
Fayetteville led 4-1 after the Beer homer in the fifth and went on to add a run in the sixth and seventh while taking a 6-1 lead. Those final two runs came in when Michael Papierski connected on a run scoring hit in the sixth off reliever Christian Meister and Colton Shaver walked with the bases loaded in the seventh while facing reliever Cody Beckman.
Meister walked two and allowed two runs on two hits over an inning and 1/3 while following Francis. Beckman inherited a bases loaded jam from Meister when he came in for the seventh and ended up allowing one of the three inherited to score before eventually getting out of the inning. Beckman did finish with three strikeouts, but he also walked one and allowed a hit over an inning and 2/3. Rodrigo Benoit pitched the ninth for Carolina and finished with one walk.
Parker Mushinski pitched the final three innings of Monday's series opener and earned his first save of the season for Fayetteville. Mushinski (S, 1) allowed a couple of hits, but struck out five over three scoreless innings.
Abreu, Rodriguez and Mushinski combined to total 17 strikeouts in the game for the Woodpeckers. They also combined to allowed just one run on five hits and held the Mudcats to 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
Fayetteville totaled 16 at bats with runners in scoring position in the game and ended up going 6-for-16 in those spots while leaving nine men on base. They also totaled four stolen bases; bringing Carolina's season total of stolen bases allowed to 18 on the season.
Adams led the way for the Woodpeckers offensively after going 4-for-5 with an RBI. Beer went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and De La Cruz went 2-for-4 with two runs and a double.
UP NEXT: The Mudcats and Woodpeckers will continue their series on Tuesday night at Five County Stadium with RHP Nelson Hernandez (1-0, 2.53) starting for Carolina opposite Fayetteville's RHP Chad Donato (1-1, 9.64). Tuesday's game will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will feature Carolina's first House Autry All-You-Can-Eat Tuesday promotion of the season. Tickets are available at (919) 269-CATS (2287) and online at carolinamudcats.com. The game will air live on the Mudcats Radio Network, the Big Dawg 98.5 FM and online at carolinamudcats.com via TuneIn Radio. It will also stream live in full HD video on MiLB.tv.
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