Southisene’s Bat, Guanipa’s Arm Give Jackets Wild Win

GreenJackets Media Contact:

Noah Adcock-Howeth

(803) 349-9411

[email protected]

Southisene’s Bat, Guanipa’s Arm Give Jackets Wild Win

Three Runs in top Half, Double Play in Bottom Steal Victory in Ninth Inning

COLUMBIA, SC: The GreenJackets led five separate times Friday night, but the only one that stuck came at the very end, as the Jackets scored three runs in the top of the 9^th and held on for an 11-10 win over the Columbia Fireflies.

Augusta was down to its final out in the ninth inning against Randy Ramnarace, with the bases loaded after three walks from Ramnarace and Yeri Perez. The fate of the night rested on Tate Southisene’s shoulders, having already reached three times in the game. Southisene ambushed a 1-0 fastball, cracking it over the right fielder’s head and to the wall, sending all three runners racing home for what would prove the go-ahead run.

The bottom of the 9^th was as chaotic as the top half, if not more so, as Mathieu Curtis looked to grind his way through his third win of the year. Curtis issued a walk and a single to start the frame, and it looked as though the Fireflies may have one last comeback in their bag. Both men moved up 90 feet on a perfect sacrifice bunt from Daniel Lopez, putting the tying run at third and winning run at second for Connor Rasmussen.

Rasmussen did his job, lifting a fly ball to center that appeared deep enough to score the tying run from third. As Luis Guanipa made the catch, both runners took off, and Guanipa directed his cannon towards third base and the advancing Roni Cabrera. Guanipa’s throw was perfect, and Cabrera was gunned down. Both sides waited with baited breath to see if the throw had beaten the runner home, as runner JC Vanek went diving into the plate. The call came that the run was waived off, and the Jackets celebrated the ninth inning comeback.

The Jackets survived a rough start from Ethan Bagwell, who was tagged for six runs on five hits and four walks in less than five innings. Jaylen Paden posted another scoreless relief outing, but Jay Woolfolk’s pro debut was spoiled by two-strike mistakes that led to five hits and four runs in two innings.

Offensively, the Jackets totaled eleven hits and eight walks, as five men had multi-hit games. Southisene reached base four times, while Tanner Smith totaled three RBIs on a home run and double. Eight of nine starters reached base, and the GreenJackets scored seven runs in their eighth win out of eleven thus far.

The Jackets picked up a ninth-inning come from behind win for the first time this year, and have now evened the series at two wins each. Tomorrow is a 6:05 start in front of an expectedly large crowd, with Zach Royse trying to limit a Columbia lineup that has been incredibly adept at coming from behind this weeks.

About SRP Park/Augusta GreenJackets

The Augusta GreenJackets are the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. 2026 Augusta GreenJackets Full, Half and 20-game season seat memberships are on sale now. To learn more about the benefits and to lock in your seat to cheer on the Braves of tomorrow, visit www.gjmembers.com or call (803) 349-WINS (9467).

For team merchandise or more information visit www.greenjacketsbaseball.com. Stay up to date on all things GreenJackets and Events at SRP Park by following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and sign up for the ‘Jackets Buzz e-newsletter today by visiting https://atmilb.com/3yr4mrw

SRP Park is the anchor piece of Riverside Village, a live, work, “playball" development which includes apartment living, retail, restaurants, class "A" office space, and a Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center. To learn more about SRP Park and hosting events and availability, visit www.thesrppark.com.

-GreenJackets