CarL Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Ballers Outlast Woodpeckers in High-Scoring, Extra-Inning Battle

Published on June 27, 2021 under Carolina League (CarL)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - Late-inning heroics and a solid night on the mound from multiple arms helped guide the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers to their third victory of the week against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers 8-7 in 11 innings at Atrium Health Ballpark on Friday night.

RHP Angel Acevedo got the start for the Ballers on the mound. The righty from Venezuela provided a strong outing on the hill, going five shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out four Woodpeckers. RHP Marcus Evey entered in relief, firing two innings, allowing four hits, three runs, one walk, and one strikeout.

Kannapolis opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth with a Caberea Weaver RBI single that scored Luis Mieses, giving the Ballers a 1-0 lead.

The Ballers grew the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a Jose Rodriguez RBI double that drove in Chase Krogman to make it 2-0. Two batters later, Bryan Ramos added a 2-RBI double that scored Victor Torres and Rodriguez to expand the lead to 4-0.

Fayetteville dug their way out of the deficit in the top of the seventh with a Justin Dirden RBI double that brought J.C. Correa home to make it 4-1. The very next batter Zach Daniels added two more runs with a 2-run home run, cutting the Ballers lead 4-3.

Correa tied the ballgame for the Woodpeckers with an RBI groundout in the top of the eighth that scored Kenedy Corona. Two batters later, Bryan Arias gave Fayetteville the lead with an RBI single that allowed Shay Whitcomb to cross the plate, making it 5-4, advantage Woodpeckers.

Mieses insured that Fayetteville would not stay ahead for too long in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single that drove Ramos in, tying the ballgame again at 5-5.

RHP Diosmerky Taveras began the night on the hill for the Woodpeckers. The righty from the Dominican Republic worked 4.2 innings, allowing five hits, four earned runs, four walks, and two strikeouts. RHP Heitor Tokar entered in relief in the fifth inning, throwing 1.1 shutout innings and one strikeout.

The game moved into extra innings thanks to effective pitching from Fayetteville RHP Kevin Holcomb (L, 1-1). The righty fired 2.2 innings, allowing two hits, three runs, none earned, three walks and three punchouts.

The Woodpeckers made it interesting in the top of the tenth inning with two runs. Correa added an RBI single that scored Whitcomb, followed by a Nerio Rodriguez RBI single that promptly scored Correa, giving Fayetteville the early 7-5 lead in extra frames.

LHP Rigo Fernandez (W, 1-1) secured the pitching decision victory with a quality outing. The southpaw from Beverly Hills tossed 1.1 shutout innings with two strikeouts en route to the win.

Mieses answered again in the bottom of the tenth, cranking an RBI double to center field, scoring Samil Polanco and Ramos to knot the ballgame for the second time at 7-7.

Rodriguez's second RBI of the night proved to be the dagger, corking a line drive off Whitcomb to center field over the head of Fayetteville's Corona, allowing pinch-runner James Beard to score, clinching the victory and sending the sold-out crowd at Atrium Health Ballpark into a frenzy.

The Ballers will close out the series with the Woodpeckers on Sunday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 12:30 p.m. RHP Andrew Dalquist (1-3, 5.00 ERA) will take the mound for Kannapolis, with Fayetteville's pitcher TBD.

Two fun promotions are in the plans on Sunday. The first 1,000 fans to arrive at Sunday afternoon's game will receive a complimentary Ballers t-shirt courtesy of Kinect by Windstream. Kids 12 and under are also invited to run the bases postgame.

Tickets can be purchased for any of the remaining home games at kcballers.com or at the F&M Bank Box Office located at Atrium Health Ballpark.

Check out the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from June 27, 2021


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