An extremely rare occasion on Friday night, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers rallied late to overcome a two-run deficit, knocking off the Myrtle Beach Pelicans for the second consecutive night. Fayetteville squandered an early 2-0 lead, as Chad Donato allowed four runs in the fourth inning, but were bailed out by an
An extremely rare occasion on Friday night, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers rallied late to overcome a two-run deficit, knocking off the Myrtle Beach Pelicans for the second consecutive night. Fayetteville squandered an early 2-0 lead, as Chad Donato allowed four runs in the fourth inning, but were bailed out by an incredible stroke of luck in the sixth when an infield pop up was fielded by no one, allowing the tying run to score. Tied at four in the ninth inning, Jacob Meyers went long for the second consecutive night, pushing Fayetteville ahead for good in the 5-4 winner.
Fayetteville peppered baserunners early on over the evening against starter Erich Uelmen, and they were able to break through in just the second inning when Enmanuel Valdez doubled to left field to score Michael Papierski. The two Jacobs doubled the early lead just an inning later, after Jacob Meyers walked and stole second base, he eventually scored on a single to left by Jake Adams. After the early lead, the offense settled down for the next couple of frames, and they found themselves working from behind after a while.
Chad Donato opened his day strong, only allowing one base hit through his first three frames, but the right-hander hit a snag in the fourth inning. After a quick strikeout, Donato allowed four consecutive batters to reach safely. An RBI double by Cam Balego was the first cut, but a three-run home run by Aramis Ademan was a deep cut as Myrtle Beach pushed ahead by two runs. Needing to lock back in, Donato was helped out by some great defense in route to face the minimum over his next eight outs, working through six innings on a career high 98 pitches.
Trying to bail out their starting pitcher, Fayetteville made another push against Uelmen in the sixth inning. The Woodpeckers loaded the bases, all with two outs, before a new pitcher came to the mound for Myrtle Beach. Making his Woodpeckers debut, Ruben Castro popped one up about 30 feet in front of home plate. With the entire infield playing back, the only potential fielders on the ball were the pitcher Jesus Camargo and the catcher Miguel Amaya, but neither fielder made a call for the ball, and it fell to the earth for a straight single. With two outs, every runner simply ran, and two runs scored for Fayetteville, tying the game.
With a fresh start Fayetteville would rely on Leovanny Rodriguez (W, 5-2) to hold strong out of the bullpen and keep the game tied. The right-hander did just that, tossing 2 2/3 scoreless frames to buy time for Fayetteville to push ahead. After the offense came up empty against Camargo and later Ben Hecht, Jacob Meyers finally broke through for the second consecutive night. The Fayetteville outfielder lofted a shot the opposite way off Hecht (L, 1-2) to lead off the ninth inning. The solo home run put Fayetteville up for good, as Meyers went 2-for-4 with his home run, a double, a stolen base, and two runs scored. Myrtle Beach raised heart rates in their half of the ninth, when they put the winning run on base, but a long flyout by DJ Wilson to right field brought the tense game to a close.
Now 2-0 in the second half, Fayetteville holds early possession of first place in the South Division, the first time in franchise history they have stood alone atop their division. With two chances to try and win the four-game series in South Carolina, Fayetteville will turn to Shawn Dubin for the third game of the set on Saturday. First pitch from Pelicans Ballpark is scheduled for 6:05PM.
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].
