The Salem RidgeYaks took care of business last Saturday night, defeating the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, 6-2, at Salem Memorial Ballpark to move into first place in the second half standings of the Carolina League’s North Division. Salem took four of the five games in the series with one rainout.
The Yaks jumped on the scoreboard in the third inning and never looked back, scoring six runs across the second through fourth innings. The RidgeYaks collected eight hits and received a dominant effort from the pitching staff, which limited Fayetteville to two runs on nine hits while striking out eight.
Fayetteville struck first in the top of the second, but Salem quickly answered in the bottom half. After Louis Andujar singled and advanced to third on a wild pitch, Andruw Musett brought him home with a single to center field. The Yaks later scored a second run off a balk to take a 2-1 lead.
The RidgeYaks broke the game open in the third. Franklin Primera and Adonys Guzman opened the inning with consecutive walks before Andujar delivered again, lining an RBI double to left field to give Salem a 3-1 lead. Andrews Opata then followed with a two-run single, scoring Andujar and Guzman to push the advantage to 5-1.
Salem added another run in the fourth. Henry Godbout was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a single from Starlyn Nunez. With two outs, Godbout stole third and Nunez stole second before a throwing error by the catcher Arturo Flores allowed both runners to advance, giving the RidgeYaks a 6-1 advantage.
Fayetteville added its final run off a German Ramirez RBI single in the fifth.
Andujar led the Salem offense with a three-hit night, going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI. Opata added a hit and drove in two, while Musett collected a hit and an RBI.
On the mound, Leighton Finley turned in five strong innings to earn his sixth win of the season. Finley allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking none across 82 pitches.
The Salem bullpen took over from there. Caden Vire worked 1.1 scoreless innings before Nicolas De La Cruz struck out two and retired all five batters he faced, allowing no hits or runs. Harry Blum then closed out the victory with a scoreless ninth inning.
The RidgeYaks also made an impact on the basepaths, stealing four bases in the victory. Andujar, Opata, Godbout and Nunez each swiped a bag.
With the victory, Salem moved to 22-19 in the second half and takes first place with the win. The final game of the homestand was rained out on Sunday, and Salem will head to Delmarva for a six-game series with the Shorebirds this week.
