Fifth Inning Fuels 'Dads Victory
Hickory, NC- The Crawdads scored all three of their runs in the fifth inning and held off the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on Thursday night to claim a 3-2 win at LP Frans Stadium. Evan Siary and Ryan Verdugo made their final regular season starts tonight and were in stellar form through
Hickory, NC- The Crawdads scored all three of their runs in the fifth inning and held off the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on Thursday night to claim a 3-2 win at LP Frans Stadium.
Evan Siary and Ryan Verdugo made their final regular season starts tonight and were in stellar form through four innings, keeping both clubs off the board.
In the fifth, The Woodpeckers broke through on an RBI single from German Ramirez to put Fayetteville up 1-0 midway through the contest.
The Crawdads would hang a three-spot a half-inning later to gain a 3-1 advantage.
Jay McQueen picked up the critical base hit in the stanza, singling to right field, scoring Curley Martha and Yolfran Castillo. The hit for McQueen followed Sebastian Baquera, who tied the game scoring on a wild pitch from Verdugo to even the contest at 1-1.
William Privette would lock down the Woodpeckers in the sixth and seventh frames, retiring all seven batters he faced, striking out two batters along the way.
Alejandro Chiquillo came in the eighth inning, with Hickory still ahead 3-1. The effort for Chiquillo was just his third in relief for the Crawdads this year.
In the eighth, Logan Hughes lifted a solo homer to left field, his fourth of the year, cutting the 'Dads lead in half at 3-2.
In the ninth, Chiquillo would nail down the save, striking out Owen Nowak to push Hickory (80-47,46-17) to their 80th win of the year.
Privette picked up his first win of 2026, a win that moves the current Crawdads win streak to thirteen games.
Ryan Verdugo was the tough luck loser tonight, dropping his record to 7-5 for the year.
Yolfran Castillo collected two hits en route to the win, but the defense would be highlighted this evening, as Sebastian Baquera cut down three base runners on the night, including a critical caught stealing in the ninth.
The win for Hickory tonight guarantees the Crawdads will finish the regular season with the best record in the Carolina League and will end the year with the franchise' all-time highest winning percentage.
Tomorrow, Moises Morales, the August Carolina League Pitcher of the Month, takes the ball against the Woodpeckers, seeking his 11th win of the season. First pitch at the Frans is set for 7pm with postgame fireworks to follow.