Bats Quiet After First as Augusta Falls in Salisbury
GreenJackets Media Contact: Noah Adcock-Howeth (803) 349-9411 [email protected] Bats Quiet After First as Augusta Falls in Salisbury Offense Overly Aggressive, Unable to Keep Pace Late SALISBURY, MD: The GreenJackets scored three runs early to jump ahead of the Shorebirds Saturday night, but went dormant afterwards and were unable to fend
GreenJackets Media Contact:
Noah Adcock-Howeth
(803) 349-9411
Bats Quiet After First as Augusta Falls in Salisbury
Offense Overly Aggressive, Unable to Keep Pace Late
SALISBURY, MD: The GreenJackets scored three runs early to jump ahead of the Shorebirds Saturday night, but went dormant afterwards and were unable to fend off the Shorebird hitters in a 7-4 loss at Perdue Stadium.
Augusta’s best offensive inning was also its first, as the bats attacked top prospect Esteban Mejia early and chased him before he finished the frame. After a leadoff walk, Mejia recorded back-to-back outs, with a passed ball and wild pitch moving Tate Southisene to third. Caden Merritt came up clutch with a run-scoring infield single, and after two more wild pitches, Merritt himself scored on an RBI double from Nick Montgomery. Juan Mateo added an RBI knock in his first game of the year, and one more single ended Mejia’s night prematurely.
Unfortunately for Augusta, the Shorebirds also came out swinging, and they tied the game the very next half-inning against Zach Royse. Royse also got to two outs after a leadoff walk, before a Cobb Hightower single and walk to Joshua Liranzo loaded the bases. As he had often this week, DJ Layton was ready for the big moment, as he slashed a bases-clearing triple into right field to tie the game.
Both offenses were held off the board the next two innings, before the Jackets cracked through against Hunter Allen in the fourth. Allen loaded the bases via two walks and a single, before he struck out Conor Essenburg on a diving changeup. One out away from stranding the bags full, Allen spiked a fastball to the backstop that brought a run home.
Once again, the Shorebirds answered immediately, pushing a run across to chase Royse, with doubles from Andres Nolaya and Braylon Whitaker getting the run back. The GreenJacket hitters would not muster another hit for the rest of the night, but Delmarva was far from done in their pursuit of the win.
Ryan Heppner was able to dance out of danger in the 4th and keep the game tied, but he could not repeat his performance in the 5th. Heppner issued back-to-back walks with one out, and Delmarva put the pressure on with a double steal. Montgomery’s throw to third skipped into the outfield, and the go-ahead run crossed home. Nolaya followed with a single that brought home the second run, and the ‘Birds had a lead they would not relinquish.
The Shorebirds tacked on an insurance run in the 6th, but it would prove unnecessary, as Brandon Downer and Javier Gonzalez combined for four hitless innings to fully quash any hopes of a rally for Augusta. The victory guarantees that Augusta will not finish above .500 on the road trip, and gives Delmarva a chance to split the series tomorrow.
The 2:05 matinee scheduled for tomorrow afternoon marks the end of Augusta’s nine-game road trip, and is the final game for the Jackets before the home opener on Tuesday, April 14th. Kendy Richard will throw for Augusta, and Christian Rodriguez will make his second start of the week for Delmarva.
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