Ochoa Homers as Fayetteville Falls for Sixth Straight Game
CHARLESTON, SC – Nehomar Ochoa Jr. hammered his team-leading tenth home run of the season Wednesday night at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Ballpark to give the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (52-68, 23-31) an early advantage. However, the Charleston RiverDogs (60-59, 33-21) rallied to take home a 8-4 win and hand the Woodpeckers
CHARLESTON, SC – Nehomar Ochoa Jr. hammered his team-leading tenth home run of the season Wednesday night at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Ballpark to give the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (52-68, 23-31) an early advantage. However, the Charleston RiverDogs (60-59, 33-21) rallied to take home a 8-4 win and hand the Woodpeckers their sixth straight loss.
Ochoa came to the plate in the top of the second after Jason Schiavone doubled and Will Bush singled off RiverDogs starter Jose Urbina with two outs. The 19-year-old got a high fastball and blasted it deep down the left field line for a three-run shot to put Fayetteville ahead 3-0. The homer was the first for Ochoa since July 30 against Columbia.
The early lead was short lived for the Woodpeckers. Charleston got on the board in the bottom half of the second when Narciso Polanco drew a bases-loaded walk from Ramsey David. Later in the frame, Aidan Smith found the outfield grass with a two-run single to tie the ballgame at three.
Danny Trehey got the final two outs of the second for David before Fayetteville turned the ball over to Rafael Gonzalez (L, 0-1) in the fourth. The RiverDogs grabbed the lead for good during his first inning in relief on a Connor Hujsak RBI single. Gonzalez conceded two more runs in the sixth as Emilien Pitre doubled home Smith before Pitre scored on a sac fly from Angel Mateo.
After Luis Hernandez (W, 5-1) tossed a pair of scoreless relief innings, the Woodpeckers inched a bit closer in the top of the eighth against righty Gerlin Rosario. A two-out single by Drew Vogel followed by a double steal put two runners in scoring position and Caden Powell dashed home on a Rosario wild pitch to make it 6-4. However, Charleston added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to put the game out of reach.
Fayetteville will look to get back into the win column on Thursday night. RHP Yeriel Santos gets the start for the Woodpeckers opposite RHP Gary Gil Hill for the RiverDogs. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.