NORTH AUGUSTA — A late home run off Adam Shoemaker handed the lefty his second loss of the week, and the team’s fifth in six games as the Fayetteville Woodpeckers manhandled the home side all week, culminating with a 3-1 win June 8.
Both starters carried no-hitters early in the game, as Jeremy Reyes and Parker Smith each navigated early wildness to close out a series defined by stellar starting pitching. In his Single-A debut, Smith worked around 4 walks for 2.2 hitless innings, striking out three and stranding three men aboard against Augusta.
Reyes did not allow a hit in 4.2 innings, but he left with his side down 1-0 as the Woodpeckers manufactured an unearned run in the top of the fifth. Drew Brutcher worked a leadoff walk, and advanced to second on a hit by pitch and third on a fly out. With men at the corners and one out, Esmil Valencia took off for second, and Nick Montgomery’s throw skipped into the outfield, allowing Brutcher to score on the error.
Augusta finally got into the hit column in the fifth as well, facing Raimy Rodriguez for the 2nd time after he started the opener on Tuesday. Roiber Niazoa greeted Rodriguez with a seeing eye single, and went first to third on a base hit from Luis Sanchez. Rodriguez walked John Gil to load the bags, but Owen Carey punched out and Isaiah Drake rolled a grounder to first to leave the bases full.
The GreenJackets were able to tie the contest one inning later, as Montgomery clubbed a solo homer for his first hit of the week to erase the shutout. It was just the second homer of the series for Augusta, a bit of surprise given that they were facing a staff that allows the second-most homers in the league. Fayetteville would attempt to answer in the seventh as Seth Keller allowed a two-out walk and hit by pitch, but Shoemaker came on and induced a fly out to keep the game tied at the stretch.
Shoemaker was unable to replicate his inning-ending fortitude in the 8th, as he lost his command for the second time this week. Brutcher led off with a walk, and traded places with Valencia on a fielder’s choice. Shoemaker got ahead 1-2 on Justin Trimble, but the southpaw left his slider up in the zone, and Trimble hammered it off the video board in left for a lead-stealing homer. Two more walks from Shoemaker threatened to put the game out of reach, but Trent Buchanan punched out Justin Schiavone to end the threat.
With a lead in hand, the Woodpecker bullpen was at its best, as Rodriguez and Dawil Almonte combined to not allow a hit in the eighth or ninth and lock down the win. The GreenJackets end the week having lost five of six, and fallen out of first place in the South Division with nine games to go in the half.
Augusta will take a day off tomorrow, before heading out to the coast once more for a six-game set with the Charleston RiverDogs, whom the Jackets beat five times in six tries three weeks ago. Fayetteville, still fully in contention for the top spot in the North, now returns home to host the Fredericksburg Nationals as they try to chase down Lynchburg and Carolina in the standings.
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