Woodpeckers Squander Early Lead Again, Drop Fifth Straight

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers went up 2-0 after two innings of play, but a five run third inning was enough to propel the Myrtle Beach Pelicans to a 6-4 victory. The pile on was highlighted by a grand slam smashed over the left field wall by Miguel Amaya, giving the Pelicans a big lead with one crack of the bat. Fayetteville attempted a comeback thanks to a two-run shot from Jonathan Arauz in the bottom of the sixth, however the offense halted production for the rest of the night to ultimately fall short of a rally. Fayetteville now trails the series three-to-none, with only one more chance to earn a win against the Pelicans tomorrow.

The Woodpeckers took an early lead in the first inning, tacking on a score against Pelicans starter Alexander Vargas (2-2). Both Jacob Meyers and Michael Papierski grounded out for the first two outs of the frame, but Corey Julks smacked a single to put a runner on for Jake Adams. The Fayetteville slugger smashed a double off the left field wall that gave Julks plenty of time to round third and score for the Woodpeckers. The tally was the 47th RBI of the year for Adams and made it 1-0 Fayetteville after one inning of play. On the mound, Woodpeckers' starter Austin Hansen (1-1) faced one over the minimum, holding the Pelicans scoreless in the first two frames. The Fayetteville offense, meanwhile, tacked on another run in the bottom of the second, kicked off by a leadoff single from Jonathan Arauz. Despite Scott Manea hitting into a double play to put two away, Arauz moved to third and eventually came home thanks to an RBI base-hit from Enmanuel Valdez. It was the 13th RBI of the season for Valdez with the score making it 2-0 Fayetteville going into the top of the third inning.  
Down 2-0 the Pelicans came alive against Hansen, smacking three straight singles off the bats of Kevonte Mitchell, Yeiler Peguero, and Zach Davis. The final base hit from Davis scored Mitchell, putting Myrtle Beach on the board and cutting the Woodpeckers lead to just one. Hansen struck out Jimmy Herron for the first out of the inning, but then walked Carlos Sepulveda to load the bases. Pelicans' catcher Miguel Amaya stepped up to the plate and launched an absolute rocket over the left field wall to suddenly put Myrtle Beach up 5-2. The grand slam was the sixth homer of the year for Amaya and also marked the second grand slam the Pelicans have smoked this series against Fayetteville. Hansen retired the next two batters in order to end the frame, but the damage was done and the Woodpeckers found themselves trailing by three going into the bottom of the third. In the second half of the frame Corey Julks roped a one out double for Fayetteville followed by a walk from Chandler Taylor. The two runners swiped a base each, both moving into scoring position but were left stranded there as Vargas finished the inning by getting Arauz to bat the breeze.
The scoring would halt for both teams for a couple of innings as Austin Hansen retired seven in a row to end his five inning outing for the Woodpeckers. Vargas matched Hansen by sending down seven Woodpeckers in order through the fifth frame. In fact he Myrtle Beach hurler struck out all three batters he faced in the bottom of the fifth. Fayetteville finally got another hit against Vargas to leadoff the bottom of the sixth with another two-bagger crushed by Jake Adams. The Pelicans starter got the first out by fanning Chandler Taylor, but on the first pitch Jonathan Arauz saw from Vargus was crushed by the Woodpeckers' infielder to Healy's Bar in right field. The two-run shot was the fifth long ball slapped by Arauz this year and also put Fayetteville within one run heading into the top of the seventh.  
With their lead reduced to just a single score, the Pelicans looked to tack on an insurance run against new Fayetteville pitcher Nivaldo Rodriguez. Yeiler Peguero drew an opening base on balls and then swiped second and third to move to 90-feet away from home plate. This put the sac-fly in play with Jimmy Herron doing just that, lofting one out to Jacob Meyers in center field and allowing Peguero to score. Rodriguez ended the frame thanks to a fly out from Sepulveda but Myrtle Beach entered the seventh inning stretch up 6-4. 
The Woodpeckers could not make anything happen offensively for the final three frames, just getting two hits and leaving both runners stranded to keep the 6-4 Myrtle Beach lead. Fayetteville has now tied a franchise record by losing five straight games and while the Pelicans on the other hand are winners of five straight. Fayetteville and Myrtle Beach are now tied for third in the South Division with each team holding a 5-5 record in second half play. The Woodpeckers look to avoid the sweep tomorrow at Segra Stadium with JP France set to climb the hill. First pitch is set for 6:00pm.
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].