Woodpeckers and Micro Brews Exchange Leads in 8-7 Defeat
June 18, 2021 - Carolina League (CarL)
Fayetteville Woodpeckers News Release
Fayetteville Woodpeckers pitcher Diosmerky Tavares
(Fayetteville Woodpeckers)
FAYETTEVILLE, NC - It took four lead changes to decide Thursday night's contest at Five County Stadium as the Woodpeckers (15-23) battled back-and-forth with the Carolina Micro Brews (23-15), but were ultimately on the losing end of an 8-7 final. Luke Berryhill homered for the third time in the series, and Fayetteville nearly tied the game in the ninth on a stolen base attempt of home.
Trailing 8-7 in the ninth, Bryan Arias extended the game with a two-out single to right field. He moved to second on a passed ball and stole third with Justin Dirden at the plate. Dirden worked a full count and as Abner Uribe came set, Arias broke for home. Uribe quickly fired to the plate and Arias was tagged out sliding in to end the night.
The Woodpeckers were aggressive on the bases all night, swiping a season-high nine bags on eleven attempts.
Fayetteville opened the scoring early against Carolina starter Brock Begue. Shay Whitcomb kick started the game with a single and scored on a fielder's choice from Arias. Carolina countered with five runs in the bottom of the first against Peyton Plumlee and chased him from the game after just 0.2 IP.
Kenedy Corona and Ronaldo Urdaneta both scored in the second after reaching on walks, and Urdaneta turned it into a 5-4 game with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning.
Miguel Guerrero (W, 2-0) entered behind Begue in the fifth and instantly surrendered a 6-4 lead to the Woodpeckers. Arias connected for a lead off double and scored on a wild pitch. After Dirden reached with a single, Berryhill drilled a two-run go-ahead home run over the right field wall to make it 7-6. It was Berryhill's third homer of the season and fourth this year at Five County Stadium.
Diosmerky Tavares (L, 0-2) recorded the final out of the fourth and opened the fifth by allowing a double to Joey Weimer. Tavares briefly recovered with a pair of outs, but Gabe Holt delivered a single to tie the game at 7-7. Felix Valerio coaxed a walk out of Tavares in the seventh, stole two bags to reach third, and was granted home plate on a balk. The balk made it a 8-7 game, giving Carolina their second lead of the night before they called Uribe out of the pen.
Uribe struck out five, retired eight in a row before the Arias single in the ninth, and held Fayetteville off the board to lock up a three-inning save.
The series continues on Friday with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. Fayetteville will start LHP Brayan De Paula and Carolina will counter with LHP Brendan Murphy.
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 Fayetteville Woodpeckers pitcher Diosmerky Tavares |
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