For only the second time this season, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers overcame a deficit after the sixth inning to earn a victory, this time knocking off the Winston-Salem Dash on Tuesday night, 7-2. The Woodpeckers trailed in every inning of the contest before the offense finally broke through, knocking in three
For only the second time this season, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers overcame a deficit after the sixth inning to earn a victory, this time knocking off the Winston-Salem Dash on Tuesday night, 7-2. The Woodpeckers trailed in every inning of the contest before the offense finally broke through, knocking in three runs in both the eighth and ninth innings to even the four-game series at two apiece. The night also featured another great start by Brett Conine, couple with an outstanding offensive performance by Jonathan Arauz, who collected four hits.
Offensively, The Woodpeckers (21-24) were scattered across the evening early against Dash starter Jorgan Cavanerio. The right-hander allowed baserunners in all four innings he pitched on the night, including a runner at third base in three of the frames, but he only allowed one run to score. After a leadoff double by Scott Schreiber was replaced on a fielder's choice, Enmanuel Valdez was able to race home for Fayetteville by stealing third and scoring on a groundout. Unfortunately for Fayetteville, their first run had come too late, as the Dash had opened the scoring early against the Woodpeckers.
Following on his nine-strikeout performance in his High-A debut, Brett Conine followed suit with another strong outing. While Conine did allow an unearned run to score in the opening frame, the righty only allowed three more baserunners for the rest of the night. Conine punched out another eight batters in his second start with Fayetteville, all while avoiding a single walk. Conine eventually allowed another run for the Dash (22-22) in the third inning, however, when Steele Walker lofted a two-out, solo home run to right field. Although Fayetteville cut the deficit in half just a half inning later, Conine departed the game on the hook for a loss.
For the next three innings, each side relied on a quality bullpen to keep the other from scoring. While Fayetteville turned to Leovanny Rodriguez, Winston-Salem used Wyatt Burns and Cody Heuer to put up zeros. As Fayetteville continually stranded runners, they started the contest 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, Rodriguez (W, 3-2) danced out of trouble for two scoreless frames, stranding two in the sixth and another in the seventh, buying just enough time for Fayetteville to rally.
As the Woodpeckers still trailed 2-1 entering the eighth inning, Winston-Salem brought out the usual closer, Jose Nin. In a rare miss, however, Nin could not pick up consistent outs. Six consecutive batters reached safely to open the frame for Fayetteville, with three coming home to score, as the inning was capped by a two-run single for Arauz. Jonathan finished the day by going 4-for-6, a career high for the infielder, tying a franchise record for Fayetteville. Just for good measure, the Woodpeckers pounced on Nin again in the ninth inning, as Jake Adams opened the frame with a lofty solo home run to left field, his seventh home run of the season. Drawing another pair of walks against Nin (L, 1-1), Jacob Meyers wrapped the evening with a two-run single to right field.
With new life in the game, Fayetteville turned to Willy Collado to try and pick up the save. Taking over in the eighth inning, Collado did allow three runners on base, but stranded them all by inducing a pop up on the infield followed by a strikeout on a fastball up-and-away. Walking another batter to leadoff the ninth inning, Collado (S, 2) locked in to retire the final three batters of the night.
The win is only the second come-from-behind victory for Fayetteville when they've trailed after the sixth inning. The first came back on April 8th in Frederick. As the four-game tilt between the South Division foes evens, Fayetteville will try to take a lead in the series tomorrow morning. Enoli Paredes will get the start for Fayetteville at 11:00AM from BB&T Stadium.
The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are the Advanced Single-A affiliate of the 2017 World Champion Houston Astros and play in their Inaugural Season at beautiful Segra Stadium in downtown Fayetteville. Segra Stadium, a $40 million state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue, features space for over 5,200 fans, natural grass, a 25x70 LED video scoreboard, six luxury suites, four field boxes, the premium AEVEX Veterans Club level, Healy's Bar and outdoor party deck, a kid's zone, and more. With a rich history of baseball in the city of Fayetteville and Cumberland County, the Woodpeckers are thrilled to write a new chapter with their inaugural campaign on Hay Street. Fans are encouraged to visit FayettevilleWoodpeckers.com to purchase tickets, learn more about the team, and find out about upcoming events and promotions at the ballpark. Fans may also reach the Woodpeckers by visiting the BB&T Box Office in front of Segra Stadium, calling (910) 339-1989, or emailing [email protected].
