Sanchez Sparks Offense In 3-1 Ballers Win over GreenJackets Thursday Night

September 9, 2022

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Backed by a solid team baserunning effort and a combined five hits allowed by three arms, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers finished Thursday night’s game on top 3-1 over the Augusta GreenJackets at Atrium Health Ballpark. RHP Dylan Burns (W, 1-1) earned his first win as a Cannon

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Backed by a solid team baserunning effort and a combined five hits allowed by three arms, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers finished Thursday night’s game on top 3-1 over the Augusta GreenJackets at Atrium Health Ballpark.

RHP Dylan Burns (W, 1-1) earned his first win as a Cannon Baller, tossing five innings, allowing one run on three hits, walking two and striking out five. RHP Tyson Messer relieved Burns in the sixth, tying his season-long outing with three shutout innings, allowing one hit, two walks, and punching out two.

INF Wilber Sanchez turned in an amazing performance at the plate, getting on base every time he stepped to bat. “La Chispa” scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third, stealing third base before sliding in safely at home on a throwing error by Augusta catcher Harry Owen to make it 1-0 Kannapolis.

Sanchez added another two runs in the bottom of the fourth, smoking an RBI single with the bases loaded into right field to allow Michael Turner and Jayson Gonzalez to cross the plate. The Ballers took a 3-0 lead on the base hit, one in which they would not lose the rest of the game.

Along the way, Sanchez tallied a total of three stolen bases, moving his team-leading total to 38 on the season and providing a constant source of worry for Augusta pitching on the basepaths.

Kevin Kilpatrick finally put the GreenJackets on the board in the top of the fifth, tallying an RBI single to center field, permitting Francisco Floyd to score and cut into the Kannapolis lead at 3-1.

Augusta put baserunners on late, but RHP Billy Seidl (S, 1) earned his first save as a Cannon Baller. The former Duke righty earned a strikeout and used effective placement of breaking balls to draw weak grounders in the infield, letting the defense behind him work to seal the victory.

RHP Noah Owen (5-10, 5.42 ERA) gets the start in the final Friday matchup at Atrium Health Ballpark in 2022. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. between the Cannon Ballers and GreenJackets.

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