Loperfido's Two-Homer Night Launches Woodpeckers to Win over Mudcats
Published on July 28, 2022 under Carolina League (CarL)
Fayetteville Woodpeckers News Release
Fayetteville Woodpeckers' Joey Loperfido
(Fayetteville Woodpeckers)
Fayetteville, NC - The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (39-52, 8-18) played a balanced game on both sides of the baseball Thursday night with Joey Loperfido belting a pair of two-run homers while Edinson Batista and Alex Santos combined to strikeout 16 Carolina Mudcats (47-46, 13-14) in a 5-1 win at Segra Stadium.
Loperfido's first drive of the night came in the bottom of the first inning and gave the Woodpeckers the lead for the remainder of the game. Jaxon Hallmark was struck in the head with a pitch by Stiven Cruz (L, 3-5) to start the inning, and was replaced by pinch-runner Yeuris Ramirez after walking off the field under his own power. Two batters later, Loperfido crushed the two-run clout over the right-center field wall for the 2-0 lead.
He secured the multi-homer game in the fifth, with another two-run shot to right center off Cruz for a 4-0 lead. It marked the second time this season that Loperfido hit two home runs in a game, giving the Duke product nine total homers for the season.
Edinson Batista (W, 6-3) took the run support and shut Carolina down over a five-inning start. The 20-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic allowed just two hits over five scoreless frames and struck out eight to earn his sixth winning decision, tying him for the team lead with Bryant Salgado.
Alex Santos (SV, 1) emerged from the bullpen in the sixth and was equally as dominant. The Astros top-5 pitching prospect allowed just one run on a Hedbert Perez solo home run in the sixth, but didn't allow a hit the rest of the night. He also struck out eight hitters, including three straight in the bottom of the ninth to close down the game.
The final run of the game came across after the Woodpeckers loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning against Carlos Morales. Victor Mascai fell just inches shy of a grand slam on a fly ball to the left field warning track that scored Logan Cerny and capped the scoring at 5-1.
The win ends a five-game losing streak for Fayetteville in the head-to-head against the Mudcats and earns them their first victory of the current six-game series. The set continues Friday night at Segra Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm. The Woodpeckers are slated to start RHP Valente Bellozo (0-0, 1.59 ERA) and the Mudcats have projected RHP Miguel Segura (2-2, 4.70 ERA) for the start.
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 Fayetteville Woodpeckers' Joey Loperfido |
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