Adams, Woodpeckers roll to inaugural win

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers' first game couldn't have played out much better than it did, and Jake Adams was a big reason why.
The Astros first-base prospect went 4-for-6 with a grand slam and a career-high seven RBIs as Class A Advanced Fayetteville rolled to a season-opening 15-0 romp over Potomac at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium on Thursday.

Gameday box score
It was the team's first game since relocating to Fayetteville after spending two seasons as the Buies Creek Astros. The excitement of that new beginning coupled with the explosive performance made it a debut to remember, both for Adams and the new Houston affiliate.
"I'm the first one to hit a grand slam in a Fayetteville uniform. That's going to be something I'm going to always cherish," Adams said. "Even coming out and winning 15-0, that's history itself right there, starting a franchise like that. So it's a pretty cool experience."
After striking out in his first trip to the plate, Adams knocked in two runs with a single to left field in the third inning. With the Woodpeckers offense rolling, the 23-year-old came up again in the fourth and smacked his second career slam over the fence in left to open up a 12-0 lead.
"The minute I hit it, I kind of impressed myself, because that's one of the hardest balls I've hit with a wooden bat, maybe with aluminum too," he said. "I mean, I got all of that one."
Adams closed out his big night with two more singles, including one that plated Fayetteville's final run in the eighth and accounted for his seventh RBI. His previous career high was four, which he'd accomplished twice. His other slam came on May 1, 2018 for Class A Quad Cities en route to a .247/.322/.430 slash line with 15 homers and 54 RBIs.

Four Woodpeckers combined on the one-hitter. Cristian Javier and Carlos Sanabria (1-0) tossed two hitless innings apiece. Javier walked four and struck out four and Sanabria issued a pair of walks and recorded a pair of punchouts. Parker Mushinski logged four frames and allowed the P-Nats' lone hit, a sixth-inning single by Telmito Agustin, while striking out four and walking two. Tommy DeJuneas capped the night with a perfect ninth.
Astros No. 10 prospect Seth Beer went 0-for-4, but picked up one RBI by drawing a walk and another after being hit by a pitch. No. 25 Jonathan Arauz went 2-for-5 with a walk and scored once.
Fayetteville racked up 16 hits in total, including four extra-base knocks. And while the Woodpeckers won't score 15 runs and allow just one hit every game, a performance like that one gave the team reasons to be excited as it begins its inaugural campaign.
"It's going to be a fun year if the pitchers are on and the hitters are on like that," Adams said.