Woodpeckers Stave Off Late Shorebirds Surge, Win Second Straight
SALISBURY, MD – The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (15-8) rallied after a slow start and got some big outs down the stretch Wednesday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium to take a 5-4 victory over the Delmarva Shorebirds (3-19). Fayetteville has now won five of their last seven games and maintain the
SALISBURY, MD – The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (15-8) rallied after a slow start and got some big outs down the stretch Wednesday night at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium to take a 5-4 victory over the Delmarva Shorebirds (3-19). Fayetteville has now won five of their last seven games and maintain the top spot in the South Division.
Woodpeckers starter Alain Pena began the game tossing three scoreless innings before running into some trouble in the fourth. The Shorebirds loaded the bases with no outs before Angel Tejada brought in a pair of runs on a double to put Delmarva up 2-0. Pena then bounced back to get three straight outs and finished the night going four and two-thirds innings, striking out six. Ben Petschke (W, 1-0) got the final out of the fifth for him.
The Shorebirds got four shutout frames from their starter in Ty Weatherly. However, Fayetteville quickly broke through against Delmarva’s bullpen once Weatherly departed. Fernando Caldera grounded a single up the middle off Blake Money (L, 0-2) to score Waner Luciano and bring the Woodpeckers within one in the fifth. In the sixth, a fielding error by Shorebirds first baseman Brayan Hernandez allowed Cesar Hernandez to come in and tie the score. Later in the inning, Anthony Sherwin lifted a fly ball to right that was deep enough for Juan Santander to score and give Fayetteville the lead.
The Woodpeckers added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh aided by more Delmarva defensive miscues. After Alberto Hernandez singled and Caldera drew a walk, it was another error by Brayan Hernandez that led to Fayetteville extending their lead to 4-2. During the next at bat, a passed ball evaded catcher Aneudis Mordan and Caldera dashed home for the second run in the inning.
Yeriel Santos (SV, 2) took over on the mound for the back half of the ballgame and worked the sixth and seventh without incident. However, the Shorebirds plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth to put the pressure on. But Santos rebounded in the ninth and pitched around a two-out Oliver Carrillo error to secure the one-run win for the Woodpeckers.
Fayetteville looks to make it three straight victories to begin the series Thursday night in Salisbury. RHP Derek True will get the start for the Woodpeckers opposite LHP Luis De Leon for Delmarva. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.