Nishida Tallies Five Hits in Kannapolis’ Fourth Consecutive Win over Woodpeckers 

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Rikuu Nishida notched a five-hit night at the plate in a, 10-2, win for the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers over the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on Friday night at Atrium Health Ballpark.

With the win, the Ballers jump back to 7-7 in the season’s second half, making it to 48-32 on the overall year. Fayetteville slides to 35-45 in the year, 6-8 in the second half of the year.

LHP Lucas Gordon earned his seventh win of the season, striking out five over five innings, walking none and allowing two runs on three hits. RHP Manuel Veloz followed up in relief, striking out a pair in four innings, allowing no runs on two hits, walking one batter.

Nishida’s five hits also resulted in a trio of RBI, leading off the order for the Cannon Ballers and pushing Kannapolis ahead early. The former Oregon Duck scored on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the first, putting the Ballers ahead, 1-0.

Caden Connor and Luis Pineda each tallied an RBI in the bottom of the second, with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to make it, 3-0, Kannapolis. Wilber Sanchez extended the lead in the bottom of the third, pushing the Cannon Ballers to a, 4-0, lead after three.

Fayetteville got on the board in the top of the fifth, cutting Kannapolis’ lead to, 4-2, on an Alberto Hernandez two-run home run.

Nishida doubled in the bottom of the fifth to quickly answer, driving in a pair of runs to push the Ballers ahead, 6-2, after five.

George Wolkow made the most of his opportunity at the plate in the bottom of the sixth, crushing his seventh home run of the season to right field down the line.

The Ballers completed their night of offense in the bottom of the seventh, adding a pair of runs on a Nishida RBI triple and a walk of Connor that included a wild pitch to score Nishida to finish their scoring at, 10-2, after seven, with Kannapolis winning for the fourth game in a row.

RHP Ricardo Brizuela will make his Cannon Ballers debut in the series finale against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on Saturday night. First pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m., with a fourth night in a row of postgame fireworks in the schedule for fans to enjoy.

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