Hendrix Stays Hot, RiverDogs Lose Control Early in 7-2 Defeat to GreenJackets

Hendrix Goes 3-for-4 to continue his second half tear

By Matt Dean

June 30, 2016

CHARLESTON, SC - The Augusta GreenJackets took control right from the start, jumping out to a 5-0 lead to hand the Charleston RiverDogs a 7-5 loss in front of 4,006 in Thursday's opener at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

Jeff Hendrix continued his offensive tear for Charleston, going 3-for-4 at the plate and is now hitting .643 (11-18) with six walks in six games since the All-Star break. The RiverDogs center fielder raised his average to a team leading .306 on the year in his third multi-hit performance in a row.

After a 46 minute rain delay that pushed the first pitch back to 7:55 pm, the GreenJackets jumped all over RiverDogs starter Daris Vargas (4-4). The Dominican righty allowed the first five batters of the game to reach including an RBI triple by the league's leading hitter, Miguel Gomez, and a run scoring double by third baseman Dillon Dobson that made it 2-0 Augusta after a half inning.

In the third, the GreenJackets doubled their lead by pushing two more runs across. After Seth Harrison lined out to third, Gomez collected his second hit of the night with a single to left and Dobson followed suit with his second double to put runners at second and third. With two strikes, GreenJackets catcher Matt Winn fanned at a wild pitch to reach first on a strikeout with Gomez scoring on the same play to make it 3-0. Two batters later, Jean Angomas singled to center with two outs to push the Augusta lead to 4-0.

In the top of the fifth, Augusta first baseman Junior Arias tripled with one out and scored on a single to left by Angomas to extend the lead to 5-0 and chase Vargas from the game. The RiverDogs All-Star finished allowing five runs (all earned) in 4.1 innings while walking three and striking out five.

The RiverDogs got on the board in the bottom half. Audie Afenir hit a ground ball to first that rolled right past Arias for an error that allowed the RiverDogs first baseman to reach. Two batters later, RiverDogs left fielder Nathan Mikolas singled to right to put runners at the corners. Cesar Diaz hit a ground ball through the legs of field umpire Tyler Jones that then ricocheted off of shortstop Richard Amion for an RBI knock that made it 5-1.

Augusta and Charleston would each trade runs in the sixth. With Charleston trailing 6-1 in the bottom half, the RiverDogs loaded up the bases with nobody out, but only came up with the one run. A ground ball out produced by Hoy Jun Park would plate a run to make it 6-2.

Augusta would add a run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Amion to put the game further out of reach for Charleston.

Cory Taylor (7-2) tossed seven innings of two run ball for Augusta with nine strikeouts in his fifth start against the RiverDogs this year. Charleston still owns the season series against the GreenJackets, 9-7.

Upcoming

The RiverDogs take on the Augusta GreenJackets in game two of the four-game series on Friday night. The RiverDogs will send LHP Nestor Cortes (4-1, 0.82) as the GreenJackets roll out LHP Dominic Mazza (2-0, 3.57). It will be the first of three days of fireworks presented by BUSH'S Beans as Charleston fans revel in a Home Telecom postgame fireworks extravaganza.

The RiverDogs also welcome welcome 'Duke' from BUSH'S Beans. Have your picture taken with 'Duke' and see if you can get him to spill the beans about the family recipe. The South Carolina Watermelon Growers Association will also be on site and which will feature a flavorful twist to our pregame ceremonies. The RiverDogs will wear specialty red uniforms to honor our military as part of ISHPI Red Shirt Fridays presented by Mix 96. Fans that wear red to the game get $1 off their ticket purchase at the gate with the option to donate that dollar to the Wounded Warrior Corps.

Ticket information for the RiverDogs homestand and any of the remaining home games can be secured by contacting the box office at (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or online at www.riverdogs.com. Tickets for game two of the SAL Division Series on Friday, September 9 at The Joe are now available. Those that can't make it to the park can follow every pitch of the RiverDogs season on WTMA 1250 AM and streaming online at riverdogs.com. Listen on WTMA 1250 AM in the tri-county area.