Ballers Offense Does Just Enough in 3-1 Series Opening Win over Augusta Tuesday
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers notched their eighth win in a row with a, 3-1, showing in the series opener against the Augusta GreenJackets at Atrium Health Ballpark. With the win, Kannapolis now sits at 25-21, tied for second place in the South division of the Carolina League,
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers notched their eighth win in a row with a, 3-1, showing in the series opener against the Augusta GreenJackets at Atrium Health Ballpark.
With the win, Kannapolis now sits at 25-21, tied for second place in the South division of the Carolina League, one game behind the Hickory Crawdads. With a win and a Hickory loss tomorrow, Kannapolis would be in a share for first place just one month after being in the basement of the division.
RHP Max Banks (W, 4-0) earned his fourth win in a row, going five solid innings for Kannapolis. The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits and struck out four Augusta bats. RHP Alexander Martinez followed up with a great outing, tossing three innings and surrendering one hit, one walk and tallying three punchouts. RHP Landen Payne (S, 2) bolted the game down for Kannapolis, striking out two batters in a shutout top of the ninth.
With ducks on the pond, Alexander Albertus hit into a groundout in that brought home the opening run in the bottom of the second inning to put Kannapolis in front first. In a similar situation in the bottom of the third, Stiven Flores brought home the second run on a groundout to put the Ballers ahead, 2-0, after three.
Augusta responded in the top of the fourth inning with Juan Mateo hitting into a 4-6-3 double play that allowed the only run for the visitors to score. Alex Lodise scampered home to make it a, 2-1, game in favor still of the home side.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, James Taussig mashed a solo home run to straightaway center field, 438 feet off of the batter’s eye to make it, 3-1, in favor of the Ballers. The insurance paid off, with the bullpen holding down the fort late to give Kannapolis their 11th win of their last 12.
The Ballers are back in action Wednesday night against the Augusta GreenJackets at 7:00 p.m. at Atrium Health Ballpark in the second of a six-game series. RHP Truman Pauley is scheduled to make another start for Kannapolis, who will make an attempt at a share of first place in Wednesday’s contest.
The 2026 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers season is underway at Atrium Health Ballpark! Single-game tickets, season ticket packages, group experiences and 10-game mini plans for the 2026 season are available for purchase now. Call the Cannon Ballers ticket office at (704) 932-3267 or visit kcballers.com for more information.