Late Rally Leads Mudcats to 11-5 Victory

Luis Lara had four hits and Kay-Lan Nicasia drove in three while pacing the Carolina offense

Luis Lara - Carolina Mudcats (Credit: Ryne Barnes)

June 17, 2023

CAR: 2 0 1 1 0 1 6 0 0 11 14 0
AUG: 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 5 2

WP: Tyler Wehrle (5 - 3) LP: Landon Harper (4 - 3) SV: Shane Smith (4)

AUGUSTA, S.C. – Luis Lara had four hits and two doubles, Jace Avina hit a game-tying home run in the fourth, Kay-Lan Nicasia and Luke Adams had back-to-back RBI triples in the seventh and relievers Tyler Wehlre and Shane Smith combined to allow just one run over seven and 1/3 as the Carolina Mudcats defeated the Augusta GreenJackets 11-5 on Friday night at SRP Park.

What started as a back-and-forth battle turned into a blowout as Carolina (32-27) scored six runs in the seventh to break a 5-5 tie en route to the 11-5 victory. The six-run seventh included five straight run-scoring hits including Nicasia’s two-run triple, Adams’ RBI triple, Avina’s RBI double, a Jheremy Vargas RBI double and Jesus Parra’s RBI single.

Reliever Landon Harper allowed all six Carolina runs in the seventh and took the loss. Harper (L, 4-3) was the second Augusta (29-32) pitcher of the night as he followed starter Owen Murphy in the sixth. Chad Bryant finished the game with two and 2/3 scoreless innings.

Wehrle (W, 5-3) earned the victory for the Mudcats while working through four and 1/3 innings with just one run on three hits. Wehrle walked a couple of batters and struck out six while stifling the Augusta offense. Smith (S, 4) finished the game with three scoreless and five strikeouts while earning the save. Alexander Vallecillo started and went just an inning and 2/3 with four runs, two hits, five walks and a strikeout.

Lara paced the Carolina offense with four hits including a first-inning RBI double that helped the Mudcats jump out to an early 2-0 lead. The GreenJackets countered a two-run Carolina first with four runs in the second, but the Mudcats went on to get a RBI single from Nicasia in the third and a game-tying home run in the fourth from Avina. The two teams traded runs in the sixth to make it 5-5, but Carolina rallied for six runs and six hits off reliever Landon Harper in the seventh while running away with the victory.

*HOME RUNS:
*Carolina: Avina (5, 4th inning off Murphy, 0 on, 0 out).

TOP PERFORMERS - BATTERS:
Lara, CF (Carolina): 4-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Avina, LF (Carolina): 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Nicasia, RF (Carolina): 2-for-4, 2 R, 0 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBI
Barrios, SS (Carolina): 2-for-5, 2 R, 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Janas, 1B (Augusta): 1-for-3, 0 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI
Workinger, LF (Augusta): 1-for-4, 0 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI

TOP PERFORMERS - PITCHERS:
Wehrle (W, 5-3) (Carolina): 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO
Smith (S, 4) (Carolina): 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
Bryant (Augusta): 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO

SCORING:
Mudcats 1st (Mudcats 2, GreenJackets 0) -- Gregory Barrios doubles to left field. Gregory Barrios steals 3rd base. Luis Lara doubles to left-center field, Gregory Barrios scores. Hedbert Perez pops out to Justin Janas in foul territory. Kay-Lan Nicasia struck out looking. Luke Adams walks. Luis Lara steals 3rd base. Luke Adams steals 2nd base, Luis Lara scores; throwing error by Dawson Dimon. Jace Avina struck out looking.
(2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors, 1 LOB)

GreenJackets 2nd (GreenJackets 4, Mudcats 2) -- Jeremy Celedonio hit by pitch. E.J. Exposito doubles to center field, Jeremy Celedonio scores. E.J. Exposito caught stealing 3rd base, Jose Sibrian to Luke Adams. Cory Acton walks. Cory Acton steals 2nd base. Dawson Dimon strikes out swinging. Tyler Collins walks. Ambioris Tavarez hit by pitch, Cory Acton to 3rd; Tyler Collins to 2nd. Justin Janas walks, Cory Acton scores; Tyler Collins to 3rd; Ambioris Tavarez to 2nd. Ethan Workinger singles to shallow center field, Tyler Collins scores; Ambioris Tavarez scores; Justin Janas to 3rd. Pitcher Change: Tyler Wehrle replaces Alexander Vallecillo. Ethan Workinger steals 2nd base. Bryson Worrell strikes out swinging.
(4 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors, 2 LOB)

Mudcats 3rd (GreenJackets 4, Mudcats 3) -- Gregory Barrios singles to left-center field. Luis Lara singles to left field, Gregory Barrios to 2nd. Hedbert Perez grounds out to Justin Janas, Gregory Barrios to 3rd; Luis Lara to 2nd. Kay-Lan Nicasia singles to right field, Gregory Barrios scores; Luis Lara to 3rd. Luke Adams flies out to Tyler Collins. Kay-Lan Nicasia caught stealing 2nd base, Dawson Dimon to E.J. Exposito.
(1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB)

Mudcats 4th (Mudcats 4, GreenJackets 4) -- Jace Avina hits a home run to left field on a 0-0 pitch. Jheremy Vargas grounds out, Ambioris Tavarez to Justin Janas. Jesus Parra grounds out, Ambioris Tavarez to Justin Janas. Jose Sibrian strikes out swinging.
(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB)

Mudcats 6th (Mudcats 5, GreenJackets 4) -- Kay-Lan Nicasia walks. Luke Adams singles through the hole at shortstop, Kay-Lan Nicasia to 3rd. Wild pitch by Owen Murphy, Kay-Lan Nicasia scores; Luke Adams to 2nd. Jace Avina walks. Pitcher Change: Landon Harper replaces Owen Murphy. Jheremy Vargas strikes out swinging. Jesus Parra strikes out swinging. Jose Sibrian grounds out, Justin Janas to Landon Harper.
(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 2 LOB)

GreenJackets 6th (Mudcats 5, GreenJackets 5) -- Dawson Dimon walks. Tyler Collins strikes out swinging. Dawson Dimon steals 2nd base. Ambioris Tavarez struck out looking. Justin Janas singles to left-center field, Dawson Dimon scores. Ethan Workinger strikes out swinging.
(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB)

Mudcats 7th (Mudcats 11, GreenJackets 5) -- Gregory Barrios grounds out, Cory Acton to Justin Janas. Luis Lara doubles to left field. Hedbert Perez reaches on fielding error by Ambioris Tavarez. Kay-Lan Nicasia triples down the right-field line, Luis Lara scores; Hedbert Perez scores. Luke Adams triples down the right-field line, Kay-Lan Nicasia scores. Jace Avina doubles to left field, Luke Adams scores. Jheremy Vargas doubles to center field, Jace Avina scores. Jesus Parra singles to center field, Jheremy Vargas scores. Pitcher Change: Chad Bryant replaces Landon Harper. Jose Sibrian grounds into double play, Chad Bryant to E.J. Exposito to Justin Janas, Jesus Parra out at 2nd, Jose Sibrian out at 1st.
(6 Runs, 6 Hits, 1 Errors, 0 LOB)