RiverDogs Swept in Doubleheader to Close Regular Season

By: RiverDogs Media

Fayetteville, NC – The Charleston RiverDogs could not solve the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, suffering two losses to close the regular season at Segra Stadium on Sunday evening. Fayetteville emerged from the resumed Saturday contest with a 4-3 victory and doubled down with a 7-4 win in the nightcap. The RiverDogs closed the regular season with four straight losses.

The first contest resumed with the RiverDogs (39-26, 66-65) trailing 2-1. Cristopher Barete opened the day with a first pitch single back up the middle. He quickly stole second and third base, later crossing the plate on Cooper Kinney’s groundout to even the score.

Fayetteville (30-36, 60-72) came right back to regain the lead in the bottom of the third. Brice Matthews went to the opposite field with a solo home run that put the Woodpeckers back in front. Luis Encarnacion doubled with two outs, scoring when the next hitter, Ryan Johnson, drove a base hit to shallow center field.

Charleston cut the deficit in half with one swing of the bat in the fifth inning. Catcher Bryan Broecker blasted his second home run of the season onto the berm beyond the left field wall to make it 4-3. The RiverDogs put a man on base in three of the last four innings, but never scored again.

Broecker, who finished 2-3 with a home run, was the only Charleston hitter with multiple knocks. Matthews, Encarnacion and Pascanel Ferreras each tallied two hits for the Woodpeckers.

Starter Santiago Suarez worked one inning on Saturday night, before the game was suspended, allowing two runs on three hits. Jonny Cuevas followed out of the pen and took the loss after surrendering two runs on six hits in 5.0 innings. Drew Sommers and Jack Hartman each retired the side in order during their inning on the mound.

The second contest began with the RiverDogs missing out on a great opportunity to score in the first inning. They put runners on second and third with no outs but could not push home a run. In the second, Jhon Diaz singled to open the frame before stealing second and third base. Raudelis Martinez brought him in with a groundout to first.

Jake Christianson was dominant in his first two innings on the mound until running into big trouble in the third. Ferreras opened the inning by banging a double off the wall in center field. Cam Fisher joined him on base after taking a free pass from the right-hander.

Fayetteville took the lead as Garrett Guillemette pounded another double off the top of the left field wall to drive in both. Later in the same stanza, Juan Santander drove a two-run home run to right field to increase the margin to 4-1. Dauri Lorenzo added a solo home run in the fourth.

The RiverDogs battled back to within a pair in the fifth. Brayden Taylor opened that inning with a triple to the base of the wall in right field. Kinney worked a base on balls moments later to put a pair on board. A single from Colton Ledbetter trimmed one run off the deficit and a sacrifice fly by Carlos Colmenarez closed the gap to 5-3. The lead swelled to four with back-to-back RBI singles from Fayetteville’s Jackson Loftin and Lorenzo.

Kinney’s RBI groundout to the right side with the bases loaded in the sixth inning closed the scoring.

Christianson took the loss after allowing four runs on five hits in his 3.0 innings on the bump. Alex Ayala Jr. was tagged with three runs in 2.0 innings of work. Jackson Lancaster did not allow a run in the sixth.

Diaz was the only player with multiple hits for the RiverDogs, going 2-4. Fayetteville received two hits from Santander, Loftin and Lorenzo.

The RiverDogs will take Monday off before beginning their first-round playoff series against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans at The Joe on Tuesday night. The match-up on the mound has not been set at this time. The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a playoff t-shirt identical to the shirts received by players on the field after clinching a spot in the postseason. $1 beers will also be available throughout the ballpark thanks to Budweiser.

2023 playoff tickets are on sale now, along with group tickets, including options to the Segra Club at Riley Park via riverdogs.com/tickets

Game 1

Fayetteville 4, Charleston 3
September 10, 2023

Click here for the box score

Charleston (R-H-E): 3-5-0
Fayetteville (R-H-E): 4-9-1

Win: Dombroski (7-9)
Loss: Cuevas (6-9)
Save: Foggo (4)

HR: Charleston: Brayden Taylor (5, 1st innings, 0 on base), Bryan Broecker (2, 5th inning, 0 on base)
HR: Fayetteville: Cam Fisher (5, 1st inning, 0 on base), Brice Matthews (4, 3rd inning, 0 on base)

Game 2

Fayetteville 7, Charleston 4

Click here for the box score

Charleston (R-H-E): 4-5-1
Fayetteville (R-H-E): 7-9-0

Win: Carrasco (4-6)
Loss: Christianson (7-9)
Save: Molero (8)

HR: Charleston: None
HR: Fayetteville: Juan Santander (1, 3rd inning, 1 on base), Dauri Lorenzo (3, 4th inning, 0 on base)

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