SALEM, Va. – The Salem Red Sox began a six game home series with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers Tuesday night. What started out as promising for the Red Sox, took a sour turn, resulting in an 8-4 loss.
Wikelman Gonzalez started on the mound for Salem going five innings and collecting 7 strikeouts while allowing just two runs.
At the plate, Salem scored in the opening inning off an RBI single from Blaze Jordan. The bats fell flat before they added two more runs in the fifth and a solo home run from Marcelo Mayer in the 7th.
The top of the 7th inning is what proved to hurt Salem. The Woodpeckers scored 5 runs after nearly hitting for the cycle as a team in an inning that included two singles, a triple and a home run.
Fayetteville added insurance in the 8th inning before claiming the Tuesday night victory in Salem. The same two teams will meet at Carilion Clinic Field on Wednesday with the first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m.