WILSON, N.C. - The Wilson Warbirds fought off a comeback bid from the Fayetteville Woodpeckers to win 6-4 at Wilson Ballpark on Wednesday afternoon.
Fayetteville (41-41, 9-8 second half) took an early 1-0 lead after consecutive two-out doubles from Kevin Alvarez and Waner Luciano.
Wilson (45-38, 9-8 second half) responded immediately, with Juan Ortuño driving in Brady Ebel as the tying run in the bottom of the first.
The Warbirds got right back to work in the second with Handelfry Encarnacion singling in Rylan Mills to capture a 2-1 lead.
Fayetteville tied the game at two in the top of the fourth as Josh Wakefield doubled in the tying run.
In the bottom of the fifth, Wilson recaptured the lead once and for all, plating Ebel again to take a 3-2 lead. The inning continued when Ortuño came in to score on an infield error by Fayetteville, extending the Warbirds' 4-2 lead.
Wilson tacked on another in the bottom of the seventh as Alexander Frias drove in Handelfry Encarnacion, who hit his 19th double of the year earlier in the inning.
Leading 5-2 in the top of the eighth, the Warbirds ran into a little bit of trouble. A leadoff home run from Xavier Neyens sliced the lead to 5-3. With the bases loaded, Kenni Gomez grounded out to plate another and make it a one-run ballgame. However, Enderson Mercado (W, 4-5) escaped further damage and sent Wilson to the plate with a 5-4 lead.
Juan Martinez bashed his first Warbirds home run to lead off the bottom of the eighth and give Wilson an insurance run. The 6-4 advantage was all Joshua Quezada (S, 3) needed in the top of the ninth to hold on to the win.
Fayetteville starter Jagger Beck (L, 2-3) was charged with the loss.
After some time off, the teams will return to Wilson Ballpark tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. LHP Andrew Healy (3-0, 5.57) will make the start for the Warbirds against Fayetteville’s RHP Nick Potter (0-1, 2.22). Tickets for the game are available at WilsonWarbirds.com or by calling (919) 269-2287.