The Intimidators failed to wake up their bats after a short rain delay in Augusta, Georgia, Wednesday night, falling to the GreenJackets 5-2 at SRP Park, tallying only four hits on the night.Augusta jumped on the board with two runs in the first inning against LHP Parker Rigler (L, 6-5),
The Intimidators failed to wake up their bats after a short rain delay in Augusta, Georgia, Wednesday night, falling to the GreenJackets 5-2 at SRP Park, tallying only four hits on the night.
Augusta jumped on the board with two runs in the first inning against LHP Parker Rigler (L, 6-5), as Heliot Ramos tripled on a ball down the right field line to bring in the first run of the ball game. One batter later, Manuel Geraldo smacked a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Ramos from third to give Aaron Phillips (W, 4-6) a two-run cushion.
Two innings later in the third, Evan Skoug smacked the first pitch of his at-bat into right field, moving over to third base a few pitches later after an Ian Dawkins single to right. With runners at the corners and Luis Curbelo at the plate, Phillips threw a wild pitch, allowing Skoug to score and cut the lead in half, 2-1.
After a three innings of almost no action at the plate for either team, Rigler exited in the seventh inning after walking two-straight batters to begin the frame. Then, Jeffry Parra laid down a well-placed sacrifice bunt to Tate Blackman at third base, moving both runners up 90 feet to second and third base. After the sacrifice bunt, RHP Luis Ledo replaced Rigler on the bump for Kannapolis, surrendering a two-run single up the middle off the bat of Trevor Abrams, bringing in both Ryan Kirby and Orlando Garcia.
Down by three going into the eighth inning, Ledo allowed three singles in a row, as Augusta added on another run with a Kirby line drive single to center field, now up 5-1.
The Intimidators made things interesting in the top of the ninth inning, sending the tying run to the plate after three-straight walks to open the inning. But, with bases loaded and no outs, Michael Hickman grounded into a force out at third base, bringing in just one run to cut the lead to three, 5-2. With the tying run at the plate being represented by Justin Yurchak and Skoug with one out, both left-handed batters were not able to reach base safely, leading to a 5-2 win for Augusta.
After splitting the series with the GreenJackets, the Intimidators will host the Greensboro Grasshoppers for a four-game homestand starting Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. at Intimidators Stadium supported by Atrium Health. LHP Daniel Castano (3-2, 2.13 ERA) will get the ball for the GreenJackets in game one, as Kannapolis manager, Justin Jirschele, will send RHP Zach Lewis (2-3, 3.23 ERA) to the bump. Thursday night in Kannapolis means that it is Thirsty Thursday presented by Miller Light, as fans can enjoy $3 craft beers and $2 drafts (24 oz.) throughout the game.
