Bats Silent Once Again as Augusta Falls to Hickory

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Noah Adcock-Howeth

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Bats Silent Once Again as Augusta Falls to Hickory

Gil’s Double Saves GreenJackets from Wrong Side of History

HICKORY, NC: Less than a day after being no-hit for the first time in 29 years, the GreenJackets nearly fell victim to the same curse, squeaking out just one knock in a 6-2 loss to the Hickory Crawdads.

Augusta’s offense avoided a potentially unprecedented fate, as no Minor League team on record, and no Major League team dating back to 1900, had ever been no hit in back to back games. The threat loomed large over the morning ballgame, though, as it took until the tail end of the 7th inning for the ‘Jackets to light up the middle column on the scoreboard.

Making his professional debut, righty Brooks Fowler was positively stellar, allowing just one baserunner via a walk and striking out five in four hitless innings. It was a near-mirror image of last night, when Kamdyn Perry did the exact same thing with one less strikeout.

Opposite Fowler, Augusta starter Jeremy Reyes made his return from a shoulder issue that cut short his 2024 and fired 2.2 adequate innings, showing strong velocity and some of the same command issues that plagued the end of his 2024. He ran into trouble late in the 3rd, allowing four straight batters to reach, capped by a Jesus Lopez double that ended his morning.

The Crawdads continued to tack on in the middle innings, going after reliever David Rodriguez and utilizing a pair of errors from catcher Nick Montgomery to post four runs between the 4th and 5th. Maxton Martin doubled home a run in the 4th, and two more came across one batter later on a dropped third strike and throwing error. Hickory’s final run of the day came off an RBI from Wady Mendez, set up by another throwing error on a Luis Marquez steal attempt.

Unlike last night, when Augusta did not manage a baserunner off of the bullpen in five innings, the Jackets stayed patient and drew free passes until the hits finally came. The team’s best chance came in the 7th, when Alberto Mota walked three of the first four batters faced to set the table. Mota gave way to Eric Loomis, who immediately retired Alen Pineda. The situation fell to John Gil, and the young shortstop poked a fly ball into shallow center that miraculously fell between three defenders, scoring two and giving Augusta its first hit of the week.

Gil’s knock would be the only offensive bright spot, as Michael Valverde cruised through the final two innings to ice the win for Hickory. Augusta’s pen held its own late, with Jacob Kroeger posting a pair of zeroes, and Pineda going from DH to pitcher for his first pro appearance on the mound, where he went 1-2-3 with three ground balls.

Tomorrow, the two teams meet at 7:00 for the first time this week, with both squads sending their Opening Day starters back to the hill for their 2nd outings of the year. Augusta’s Owen Hackman battles Hickory’s Caden Scarborough in what is expected to be a dreary, drizzly Thursday at LP Frans Stadium.

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