CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Fayetteville Woodpeckers’ (30-35) pitching staff was virtually flawless Wednesday night at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Ballpark as the Woodpeckers silenced the Charleston RiverDogs’ (26-39) in a 1-0 victory.
It was Fayetteville’s third shutout win of the season and the first time this season that the Woodpeckers did not walk a single batter.
Trey Dombroski got the start for Fayetteville and went five and two-thirds scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while striking out seven. Dombroski has now allowed zero earned runs over his past 11.2 innings. He was lifted with two outs in the sixth for Austin Temple, who struck out the only batter he faced to strand a RiverDog in scoring position.
It was a quiet night offensively for the Woodpeckers until the top of the eighth inning. With two outs, Zach Cole drew a walk against Charleston reliever Jack Hartman (L, 1-3) to give Luis Encarnacion a chance at the plate. Encarnacion lined one to center field and the ball popped out of the glove of the leaping Jhon Diaz, rolling away from the Riverdogs outfielder. That allowed Cole to come all the way in from first on what ended up being an RBI double for the lone run of the contest.
Manuel Urias (W, 3-0) took over on the mound in the seventh and never looked back for Fayetteville. The righty gave up just one hit and struck out four over three innings, retiring the final four batters he faced.
With the series now even at one game apiece, the Woodpeckers wrap up the first half of 2023 on Thursday night.
Left-hander Jose Nodal gets the ball for Fayetteville while Charleston looks to turn the page with leftie Alex Ayala Jr. on the hill.
The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Box score: https://www.milb.com/gameday/728256/final/box