Photo via Carolina Mudcats on X
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May 18th, 2025
Zebulon, NC- The Carolina Mudcats (26-12) played host to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (19-20) in a Sunday afternoon contest. The Mudcats entered today’s contest 2.5 games ahead of the Lynchburg Hillcats (24-15) in the North Division standing. The Mudcats sent Chandler Welch (0-0) to the mound who made his first appearance of the season for the Mudcats after being added from High-A Wisconsin. The Woodpeckers sent Raimy Rodriguez (1-2) to the mound who entered today’s game with a 3.62 ERA in 27.1 innings pitched. The Carolina Mudcats entered today’s game on a 2 game losing streak.
The Woodpeckers struck in the top of the first when Caden Powell hit a 2 run home run off of the scoreboard that gave them a 2-0 lead. The Mudcats responded in the bottom of the second when Eric Martinez hit a 3 run home run off of the right field foul pole that gave the Mudcats a 3-2 lead. The Mudcats added to their lead in the bottom of the 3rd when Luis Pena scored on a single to left center field by Filippo Di Turi which expanded the Mudcats lead to 4-2. The Mudcats scored again later in the inning when Reece Walling scored on a balk by Raimy Rodriguez which increased their lead to 5-2.
Fayetteville responded in the top of the fourth when Cesar Hernandez hit a solo home run to right field which cut the deficit to 5-3. Fayetteville scored later in the inning when Cam Fisher also hit a solo home run to right field which decreased the deficit to 5-4. The Mudcats responded in the bottom half when Luis Pena hit a 2 run home run to left field which increased the Mudcats lead to 7-4. The Mudcats added to their lead in the bottom of the 7th when Luis Lameda scored on a walk by Jesus Made which expanded the Mudcats lead to 8-4.
Cam Brown threw 2.2 scoreless innings where he only allowed 1 hit.
The Woodpeckers responded in the top of the 8th when Jancel Villarroel scored on a single by Drew Brutcher which cut the deficit to 8-5. The Mudcats added insurance in the bottom half when Fillippo Di Turi scored on a single over the head of the second baseman by Demetrio Nadal which increased the Mudcats lead to 9-5. The Mudcats slammed the door in the top of 9th which secured the 9-5 win.
Jesus Flores threw 4 innings where he only allowed 1 run on 2 hits. Garrett Hodges threw 1 scoreless inning where he only allowed 1 walk.
The winning pitcher for the Mudcats was Jesus Flores for his 4 innings. The losing pitcher for Fayetteville was Raimy Rodriguez for his 3.1 innings where he allowed 7 runs on 5 hits. The Mudcats improved their record to 26-12 while the Woodpeckers fell to 19-20 on the season. The Mudcats exited today 2.5 games ahead of the Lynchburg Hillcats. The Mudcats are back on the road Tuesday at 6:35 pm against the Fredericksburg Nationals.
