Ballers See Win Streak Snapped in 6-2 Loss to Fayetteville Thursday

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Despite a home run from Ryan Galanie for the second consecutive game, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers fell to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers in game three of the six game homestand, 6-2, Thursday night at Atrium Health Ballpark.

With the loss, Kannapolis drops to 18-17 in the first half, just a half-game behind Fayetteville, who moves to 19-17 with the win. The two sides will now battle for first-place honors in the South division in the Carolina League with the final three games of the series.

RHP Aldrin Batista pitched effectively but was handed his first loss of the season, going five innings and striking out four Woodpeckers. The righty allowed three runs, one earned, and walked just one. LHP Tommy Vail entered in relief in the sixth, tossing his third consecutive shutout outing with a trio of strikeouts in his one inning of work.

Fayetteville notched the first run of the ballgame in the top of the fourth with a Nehomar Ochoa Jr. RBI single to left. The base hit gave the Woodpeckers their first lead of the series, 1-0, after three and a half.

Kannapolis quickly answered in the bottom of the fourth, tying the ballgame on a Ronny Hernandez RBI single, scoring Albertson Asigen. Hernandez’s second game in a row with an RBI knotted the game at, 1-1, after four.

Kenni Gomez turned the tables with a pair of RBI on a single to left field in the top of the sixth, putting Fayetteville ahead again, 3-1, after five and a half.

Galanie’s second home run of the week hugged the foul pole in right field, making it, 3-2, still in favor of Fayetteville. The former Wofford standout now has four home runs on the year and has reached base in a Carolina League-high 24 games in a row.

The Woodpeckers added cushion in the top of the seventh on a pair of RBI singles from Xavier Casserilla and Will Bush, jumping ahead, 6-2, which proved to be a deficit too big for the Ballers to come back from.

The Cannon Ballers and Woodpeckers will battle in the fourth of six games Friday night at Atrium Health Ballpark. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m., with postgame fireworks in the plans for fans to enjoy. It is slated to be a battle of 2023 second round selections on the mound, with White Sox number 13 prospect RHP Grant Taylor making his Cannon Ballers debut opposite of Houston’s number 13 prospect RHP Alonzo Tredwell.

Fans can purchase tickets for Friday’s game or any remaining home games at kcballers.com or at the F&M Bank Box Office located at Atrium Health Ballpark.