Woodpeckers Fall in 13-Inning Battle on Opening Night
Kannapolis, NC - The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (0-1) held four separate leads, including one in extras, before falling to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (1-0) 6-5 on Opening Night at Atrium Health Ballpark in 13 innings. Miguel Palma delivered the big swing of the night, hitting the first homer of the 2022
Kannapolis, NC - The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (0-1) held four separate leads, including one in extras, before falling to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (1-0) 6-5 on Opening Night at Atrium Health Ballpark in 13 innings. Miguel Palma delivered the big swing of the night, hitting the first homer of the 2022 season, and Ernesto Jaquez pitched six innings of one-hit ball out of the bullpen.
Quincy Hamilton delivered the first run of the season and a 1-0 lead, driving home Logan Cerny with a first-inning single off Kannapolis starter Brooks Gosswein. The lead was short-lived once Victor Torres pushed Kannapolis in front with a two-run triple in the second inning off Carlos Calderon. Calderon pitched into the fifth, going 4.1 innings while allowing three runs, four walks, and striking out six.
Fayetteville quickly overcame the deficit once Joey Loperfido opened the fourth inning with a walk. Palma tailed the free-pass with his two-run home-run off Jordan Mikel to retake the 3-2 lead.
Tied 3-3 in the sixth, Quincy Hamilton scored on an infield throwing error to jump Fayetteville ahead for a third time. The 4-3 cushion held up until the eighth inning when D.J. Gladney yanked a game-tying home-run down the left field line off Ernesto Jaquez. The solo shot was the only hit and run allowed by Jaquez, who struck out eight over six innings of relief work.
Fayetteville’s offense missed out on a golden chance at a big lead in extra innings. With two in scoring position and no one out, Frander Veras struck out the top three hitters of the order to escape the jam and keep the game tied.
The final lead of the night came in the 11th courtesy of a Jaxon Hallmark infield single that plated extra-runner Miguel Palma for a 5-4 advantage. In the bottom of the inning, Jayson Schroeder (L, 0-1) balked free runner Benyamin Bailey over to third and fell short of a save chance once Chase Krogman tied the game at 5-5 with a sacrifice fly.
The final blow came in the 13th when Schroeder walked Bailey with the bases loaded on a pair of close-call fastballs, capping the marathon contest at 6-5.
Fayetteville will try to even the three-game series on Saturday night with RHP Alex Santos on the mound. Kannapolis will start RHP Noah Owen. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm ET at Atrium Health Ballpark.