Batista Strikes Out Eight in Third Consecutive Victory for Kannapolis Thursday

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – It took until the fifth inning for either side to score, but the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers eventually broke through in the bottom of the fifth inning to jump to a lead they never gave up, winning their third game in a row over the Augusta GreenJackets, 4-1, Thursday night at Atrium Health Ballpark.

With the win, the Ballers pounce to 4-2 in the standings, tied for first with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers in the South Division. Augusta falls to 2-4 on the year, falling in their fourth game in a row.

RHP Aldrin Batista (W, 1-0) stole the show with 5.1 shutout innings and struck out eight, giving up just one hit in the sixth inning before being relieved. LHP Tommy Vail tossed one of three shutout innings from the Ballers bullpen, with the only run from Augusta on the night allowed by RHP Manuel Veloz in the seventh inning on a wild pitch. RHP Garrett Wright (S, 3) earned his third save in as many tries, striking out one in the top of the ninth inning.

All the offense for both sides condensed to just two innings in Thursday’s game, with Rikuu Nishida and Caden Connor each tallying RBI singles in the bottom of the fifth to put Kannapolis ahead, 2-0, over the GreenJackets.

After Augusta’s lone run in the seventh, Albertson Asigen notched an RBI double followed a Connor RBI triple to later score Asigen, pushing the Ballers to a, 4-1, lead before the late inning shutdowns from RHP Christian Edwards and Wright.

Kannapolis will send their ace to the bump in Friday night’s action for the fourth of six games this week at Atrium Health Ballpark against the Augusta GreenJackets. RHP Seth Keener (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his second start opposite Augusta RHP Garrett Baumann (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

Fans can purchase tickets for Friday’s game or any remaining home games at kcballers.com or at the F&M Bank Box Office located at Atrium Health Ballpark.