
Knorr's Scoreless Start Leads Woodpeckers to Win in Series Conclusion
April 30, 2023 - Carolina League (CarL)
Fayetteville Woodpeckers News Release
Fayetteville, NC - The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (9-11) ended a five-game losing streak on Sunday night, winning 6-2 over the Down East Wood Ducks (11-9) in the series conclusion. Michael Knorr carried the effort on the mound with six scoreless innings, while eight of nine batters in the starting lineup recorded a hit.
Fayetteville jumped on top 1-0 with a John Garcia RBI single in the bottom of the first and didn't surrender the lead for the remainder of the game. Down East starter D.J. McCarty (L, 0-1) departed the game after three innings, and Fayetteville quickly capitalized on reliever Ivan Oviedo in the fourth.
Ricardo Balogh led off with a single and was quickly driven home on a Luis Encarnacion double. Garrett McGowan made it a string of three straight hits, singling in Encarnacion for a 3-0 lead. Two batters later, Jackson Loftin drove a double to the left field wall, bringing in McGowan once the cutoff throw was booted in left field. Ryan Clifford capped the four-run inning and the 5-0 lead with a sacrifice fly.
Knorr (W, 2-0) excelled with the run support behind him, allowing five hits, all singles, and striking out five over six scoreless innings in a quality start. The third-round draft pick out of Coastal Carolina became the first Fayetteville arm to toss six scoreless innings and did so while throwing 82% of his pitches for strikes.
In the fifth, Ricardo Balogh pushed Fayetteville out to their largest lead of the entire series with a solo home run over the right field wall that made it a 6-0 game. It was the first home run hit by Balogh since September of 2021. Balogh went 2-for-4 in the game and finished the series 7-for-14 with a 2B, 3B, HR and 5 RBI.
Andrew Taylor (SV, 1) entered behind Knorr in the seventh and closed the game with three innings of work. He allowed a Yosy Galan two-run home run in the seventh but recovered with a scoreless eighth and ninth inning to earn the save.
The Woodpeckers will be off on Monday before to traveling to Salem, VA on Tuesday for the start of the six-game series against the Salem Red Sox (Single-A Boston Red Sox). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm on Tuesday night.
FULL BOX SCORE: https://www.milb.com/gameday/728008/final/box
Images from this story
![]() Fayetteville Woodpeckers pitcher Michael Knorr |
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