A 10-run second inning by the visitors turned Game 1 of the Carolina League Championship Series into a rout, and the Charleston RiverDogs dropped the opener 14-4 to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on Sunday night in front of 3,327 fans at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.
Fayetteville — the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros — sent 16 batters to the plate in that second frame, chasing Charleston starter Luke Jackson after six runs and adding four more against reliever Aiden Haugh, who was greeted with a bases-loaded walk, a sacrifice fly, and back-to-back RBI singles. Ben Tryon opened the inning with a leadoff home run over the right-field wall. Rashawn Galloway singled, and Arturo Flores doubled him in. Aaron Piasecki singled home a run of his own, and Kevin Alvarez blistered a two-run single that made it seven consecutive baserunners. Piasecki added another RBI double in the sixth, and Kam Durnin, who scored the game’s first run on a wild pitch in the first, punctuated the night with a two-run home run.
Cooper Flemming provided Charleston’s biggest hit, a two-run double to left in the fifth against Fayetteville reliever Charlie Weber that briefly cut the deficit to 11-2. The RiverDogs added a pair in the ninth on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Slater de Brun and a wild pitch that let Yirer Garcia score. Fayetteville reliever Jank Pichardo recorded the final two outs to close out the game.
The loss put the RiverDogs down 1-0 in the best-of-three series, and the club now needs back-to-back road wins at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville to force and win a decisive Game 3. The teams have a day off Monday. First pitch for Game 2 on Tuesday is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., with coverage from the RiverDogs Broadcast Network beginning at 6:20 p.m.
Even in a losing effort, Sunday put a familiar cap on a successful year at The Joe: more than 3,000 fans waved Holy City-blue rally towels for the final home game of a season in which Charleston led the entire Carolina League in attendance and finished second across the Single-A level, averaging 4,162 fans per date. Between innings, Video Production Manager Jaxon Bast squared off with mascot Charlie in a dance-off that ended with a forward cartwheel into a split. If the season is going to continue past Tuesday, the RiverDogs will now have to earn it.
