Woodpeckers Hold Down Late Lead for First Victory of Season
April 14, 2022 - Carolina League (CarL)
Fayetteville Woodpeckers News Release
Fayetteville Woodpeckers outfielder Jaxon Hallmark
(Fayetteville Woodpeckers)
FAYETTEVILLE, NC - A late go-ahead hit from Jaxon Hallmark was backed by two shutdown innings from the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (1-4) bullpen on Wednesday night to lock up a 7-6 victory over the Salem Red Sox (4-1) at Segra Stadium. The win is the first of the 2022 season, ending a four-game losing skid that started the year.
Hallmark's big hit came in the seventh after Fayetteville came from behind and tied the game 6-6 on a Kenedy Corona base hit. With Freddy Guilamo standing on third, Hallmark drove a low liner through a shallow infield, plating the go-ahead run and securing the outright 7-6 lead.
Jose Betances (W, 1-0) entered midway through the seventh inning and recorded the final seven outs en route to the win. The right-hander retired the side in order in the eighth and maneuvered out of trouble with the go-ahead runners aboard in the ninth. Down to their final chances, Salem put Eddinson Paulino and Marcelo Mayer into scoring position with two outs. Betances won the battle against Nick Kavadas, striking him out looking with an outside-corner fastball to seal the game.
The Woodpeckers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before things tightened in the latter innings. Logan Cerny drove in the first run of the game with a second inning sacrifice fly and Leosdany Molina followed it up with a two-run single for the three-run cushion.
On the mound, Nic Swanson opened his night with two perfect innings before allowing four runs on three walks and a triple in the third. Swanson regathered once escaping the rally, tossing a scoreless fourth and fifth to deliver the longest outing by a Fayetteville starting pitcher this year.
Trailing 5-4 in the sixth, Quincy Hamilton extended his hitting streak to five games with a single that scored Molina and leveled things at 5-5. Zack Matthews pitched into the seventh and punctuated his Fayetteville debut with three strikeouts before handing the ball to Betances in the come-from-behind effort.
The Woodpeckers will turn to RHP Ernesto Jaquez for tomorrow's start with the series tied going into Thursday. Salem's starting pitcher is still TBA. First pitch from Segra Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 pm EST.
FINAL BOX SCORE: https://www.milb.com/gameday/669629/final/box
Images from this story
 Fayetteville Woodpeckers outfielder Jaxon Hallmark |
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