Fayetteville, NC - Fayetteville Woodpeckers (37-37, 5-4 2nd Half) pitching retired nine in a row to start Sunday’s game before things turned sour and the Delmarva Shorebirds (27-48, 4-5 2nd Half) scored 11 runs on 15 hits across the final six innings of the night, handing Fayetteville an 11-4 defeat.
Aubrey Smith (L, 1-5) got the start and cruised through three perfect innings on just 26 pitches. The game flipped the second time through the order as Braylon Whitaker, DJ Layton and Joshua Liranzo all homered in a five-run top of the fourth. Smith surrendered two more runs on a single from Miguel Rodriguez in the fifth that made it 7-1.
Xavier Neyens pulled the Woodpeckers back within three with a deep three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth that landed on the roof of the right field bar and made it 7-4. Neyens homered three times in the series and is up to a dozen long-balls on the season.
Delmarva put the game out of reach with a quick counter in the top of the seventh, scoring four more runs against Grayson Saunier on an error and three RBI singles.
Despite losses on Saturday and Sunday, Fayetteville still won the six-game series and finished with a 7-5 record across the 12-game homestand. The Woodpeckers will be off on Monday before traveling to Lynchburg, Virginia on Tuesday for the start of a six-game series against the Hill City Howlers (Cleveland Guardians affiliate). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM.
Full Box Score: https://www.milb.com/gameday/827247/final/wrap