The Fayetteville Woodpeckers (56-72, 26-36 second half) never recovered after falling behind early in a 4-2 loss to the Charleston RiverDogs (66-61, 39-22 second half) on Wednesday night at Segra Stadium.
Multiple scoring chances fell short with the Woodpeckers going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
The RiverDogs took an early 3-0 lead against Jose Guedez (L, 1-4) over the first two innings. Cooper Kinney drove home the first run on a groundout, and Angel Mateo followed in the second inning with a two-run single.
A fifth inning home run by Cooper Kinney off Andrew Taylor jumped it to a 4-0 RiverDogs advantage before the Woodpeckers started to chip away.
Pascanel Ferreras led the fifth inning with a double off Trevor Martin (W, 10-5), and Juan Santander cut the game to 3-1 with an RBI groundout.
Taylor continued to pitch into the ninth inning and rolled to one of the best nights of his career. The second-round pick from 2022 struck out five straight hitters at one point and finished the night leveling a career-high with 11 total whiffs.
Garret Guillemette’s RBI roller toward third base scored Brice Matthews in the eighth but proved to be the final run of the game. Jack Hartman (SV, 3) completed the two-inning save and worked around a leadoff double in the ninth from Ryan Johnson to seal the 4-2 final.
The final series of the year continues Thursday night with the first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Woodpeckers are projected to start right-hander Alimber Santa (3-9, 5.90 ERA), and Charleston will counter with right-hander Marcus Johnson (5-6, 3.89 ERA).
Thursday is COPA Night at Segra Stadium, and the Woodpeckers will take the diamond as Los Guerreros de Fayetteville. Fans can also enjoy discounted beer, wine, and Pepsi products.
