Woodpeckers Win Thriller in Kannapolis to End Losing Streak
KANNAPOLIS, NC – In one of the wildest ballgames of the 2024 season Saturday night at Atrium Health Ballpark, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (36-45, 7-8) dug deep in the top of the ninth to grab an 11-9 victory over the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (48-33, 7-8). The thrilling win ended a four-game
KANNAPOLIS, NC – In one of the wildest ballgames of the 2024 season Saturday night at Atrium Health Ballpark, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (36-45, 7-8) dug deep in the top of the ninth to grab an 11-9 victory over the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (48-33, 7-8). The thrilling win ended a four-game losing skid for Fayetteville, who ended up winning both the series opener and series finale of their six-game set with the Cannon Ballers.
The Woodpeckers stormed out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning, sending ten batters to the plate against Kannapolis starter Ricardo Brizuela. Chase Jaworsky kicked off the scoring with a two-run home run, his fourth long ball of the season. Will Bush, Xavier Casserilla, and Alberto Hernandez all followed with RBI singles and Bush scored on a wild pitch to spot Fayetteville the early advantage.
The Cannon Ballers did not go away easily, however. Kannapolis scored three runs in the bottom half of the first against Jackson Nezuh, headlined by a two-run triple by George Wolkow. Later on in the fourth, Wolkow connected for a two-run home run off Nezuh to bring the score to 6-5. Despite the big swings allowed, Nezuh managed to go five innings for the fourth straight start and tied his season high in strikeouts with nine.
Controversy arose in the top of the fifth inning as the Woodpeckers looked to add to their slim lead. After Nehomar Ochoa Jr. singled and Cesar Hernandez doubled for his third hit of the ballgame, Alejandro Nunez hit a ground ball along the first base line that appeared foul. However, the ball was ruled fair, and Nunez ended up driving in both Ochoa and Hernandez with a two-run double to make it 8-5. Cannon Ballers manager Patrick Leyland came out to argue the call and was ejected by home plate umpire Jarred Neal.
Wilmy Sanchez relieved Nezuh ahead of the sixth inning and was dominant in his two innings out of the bullpen, keeping Kannapolis off the scoreboard and striking out six batters. He gave way to Amilcar Chirinos (W, 5-2) in the eighth, who conceded four runs on four hits that allowed the Ballers to take a 9-8 lead after eight.
In the top of the ninth, Cannon Ballers reliever Jesus Mendez (L, 2-2) returned for a second inning on the mound, hoping to close out the win for the home team. But Fayetteville went to work against the righty with Yamal Encarnacion drawing a leadoff walk and advance to third on a Jaworsky single. With runners at the corners and no outs, Ochoa came up and lifted a game-tying sacrifice fly to center field.
The next batter was Kenni Gomez, who began the ballgame on the bench and replaced Cesar Hernandez in the middle innings. On the sixth pitch he saw from Mendez, Gomez ripped an RBI triple to right center field to score Jaworsky and put the Woodpeckers up, 10-9. Gomez then scored on another sac fly, this time from Nunez, to push the lead to two.
Manager Ricky Rivera decided to send Chirinos back out for the bottom of the ninth to close out the win, despite the rough eighth. The decision paid dividends as Chirinos pitched around a one-out single to get the final three outs and deliver the victory. It was just the third time all season that Fayetteville won a game in which they trailed after eight innings.
After playing 12 games in 12 days, the Woodpeckers will have Sunday and Monday off before they embark on a six-game road trip to North Augusta, South Carolina for a series with the Augusta GreenJackets. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 7:05 PM.