R-Braves Win Rain-Shortened Series in Hickory

The Rome Braves (40-49) battled the elements and the Hickory Crawdads (40-48) during last week's road series in High-A East South play. Rome suffered through three rainouts and numerous delays, but in the end came out on top in the series by taking three of five matchups.

August 10, Hickory wins 8-7
The series-opener came down to the finish on Tuesday night. After Hickory raced out to a 1-0 lead, back-to-back homers by Jesse Franklin V (two-run) and Beau Philip (solo) put Rome on top. The Crawdads rallied to tie it two innings later, but an RBI single by Philip drove in Franklin to again put the R-Braves on top. Although Franklin hit his second two-run blast of the day in the seventh and a sacrifice fly by Andrew Moritz brought home Brett Langhorne, Rome just could not keep up with Hickory in a one-run defeat. Franklin had a career day, going 4-for-5 with two homers, four RBI, and three runs. Philip was perfect at the plate in a 4-for-4, one home run, two runs batted in, and one run scored performance. Langhorne and Riley Delgado finished with two hits each while 2021 draft pick Luke Waddell scored twice in the narrow loss. Jared Shuster struck out five in four innings and surrendered two earned runs on seven hits and no walks. Mitch Stallings (3ER in 1IP), Marrick Crouse (Blown Save, 2; 1.1IP, 2ER), and Justin Yeager (L, 0-3; 1.2IP, 1R, 0ER) combined to pitch the final four frames.

August 11, Rome wins 5-4
Rome bounced back in a big way with Wednesday night’s victory. The extra-innings triumph ended an eight-game losing streak for the R-Braves and helped right the ship a bit in last week’s series. Trailing 2-0 entering the eighth inning, Rome’s offense finally woke up. A failed fielder’s choice allowed Rusber Estrada to touch home plate and a base hit from Michael Harris II scored Cody Milligan from third base. The game rolled into extras with a 2-2 tie. A fielding error let Delgado reach and allowed Harris and Milligan to score, but Hickory came right back with two runs of their own in the tenth. Rome generated the separation needed to win the following half-inning when an RBI single by Moritz let Delgado come around. Zach Daniels picked up a 1-2-3 bottom of the eleventh, securing the 5-4 victory. Milligan scored twice while Harris, Moritz, and Waddell added one RBI each. McSteen had a phenomenal outing, giving up just two earned runs on seven hits and one walk in seven innings. The Nebraska product struck out nine Crawdads as well. Matt Hartman pitched two innings, striking out two, but Daniels recorded both a blown save (1) and a win (3-2) after surrendering one earned run in two innings pitched.

August 13 (Game 1), Rome wins 5-4
A great start and a better finish handed Rome their second straight win over Hickory on Friday night. After Thursday’s game was rained out, it forced for a doubleheader in North Carolina the next day. The Atlanta Braves’ High-A Affiliate scored three runs in the first three innings to take the lead. A two-run homer from Langhorne in the second inning, mixed with a throwing error that allowed Waddell to score in the third, gave the R-Braves a 3-1 advantage. Down to their last out, the Crawdads smacked a solo shot to tie it and send it into extras. An RBI single by Harris plated Moritz and a wild pitch brought in Waddell in the top of the eighth to make it 5-3 Rome. Although Hickory scored one run in the bottom of the eighth, the home team could not tie it and fell by one. Langhorne was 1-for-3 with a homer- his fourth of 2021- and drove in two runs while scoring once. Harris (2-4, RBI) was the only R-Brave to record two hits while Waddell (1-3, 2R) touched home plate twice. Darius Vines through six innings of two-run ball with three K’s. Tyler Ferguson (2IP, 1ER, 3K) tallied his second blown save of the season but battled back to earn the win and improve his season record to 2-4.

August 13 (Game 2), Hickory wins 11-0
The Crawdads came to play in Game 2, winning a contest that was not close from the beginning. Hickory scored three runs in the second, two runs in the fourth, and six runs in the fifth to pull away for the blowout victory. Rome managed just five hits in the loss as Garrett Saunders (1-3), Shean Michel (1-3), Rusber Estrada (1-2, BB), Philip (1-3), and Delgado (1-3) were the only R-Braves to get aboard. Coleman Huntley III (4IP, 4ER, 8H, 0BB, 5K) received the loss (5-6) while Gabriel Noguera (2/3 IP, 4H, 2BB, 6ER) and Davis Schwab (1 1/3 IP, 0H, 0BB, 1K) pitched in relief.

August 15, Rome wins 7-5
Inclement weather made Saturday’s showdown be moved as part of a doubleheader on Sunday. Sadly, rain pelted Hickory again on Sunday afternoon, ending the first game early and postponing the second game altogether. The good news for Rome fans is that the R-Braves had just mounted a comeback and thus earned the win in the matchup. Hickory led 2-0 for much of the matchup until the Braves dropped a three-spot in the top of the sixth inning. A Beau Philip two-run double, paired with a Langhorne sac fly, put Rome out in front 3-2. Hickory tied it in the bottom of the sixth, just before Rome’s offense exploded for four runs. An RBI single from Harris drove in Delgado and a Michel single, plus a throwing error, scored Harris and Franklin. Philip touched home plate later in the inning on Langhorne’s second sacrifice fly of the day to give the visitors a four-run advantage. Hickory scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh before the final out was recorded. At that point the rain was too heavy to continue play. Fortunately for the R-Braves, with seven innings down the matchup had already entered full-game territory, handing Rome a 7-5 win and giving the good guys a 3-2 lead in the road series. The second game of Sunday’s doubleheader will be made up in September when Hickory visits Rome for the final regular season series of the year. Harris (2-3, 2R, RBI), Franklin (2-3, 2R), and Carlos Martinez (2-4, 2B) led Rome with two hits each while Philip (1-3, 2B, 2RBI, 2R), Delgado (1-4, 3B, R), and Michel (1-4, RBI) also made an impact at the plate. Shuster (3IP, 1ER, 2H, 1BB, 4K) produced a good start. Emmanuel Ramirez (2IP, 1ER, 4K) pitched in relief before Marrick Crouse (1 1/3 IP, 4H, 2BB, 3ER, 1K) blew the save, his third of the year. He did receive the win thanks to the R-Braves’ offensive outburst, moving to 3-1 on the season. Daniels recorded the final two outs and earned his second save of 2021.

Starting Pitcher of the Week
For the second week in a row, Jake McSteen was named Rome’s Starting Pitcher of the Week. The Great Falls, Va., native got the start in Rome’s 5-4 win on Wednesday. McSteen allowed two earned runs in seven innings on two hits and one walk. He also recorded nine strikeouts on the day. This is another great outing for McSteen, who has posted a 4.75 ERA in 41 2/3 innings pitched this season.

Relief Pitcher of the Week
Matt Hartman had as reliable of a relief appearance that one could ask for in Hickory. The right-handed reliever followed McSteen on Wednesday night and tossed two innings of hitless and scoreless baseball. The Westmont College alum tallied two K’s, gave up just one walk in the outing, and denied the Crawdads a single hit, let alone a run. Hartman is trying to stand out in Rome’s bullpen after spending much of the season on the Injured List. He currently has a 9.72 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings with Rome.

Offensive Hitter of the Week
Jesse Franklin V took home Offensive Hitter of the Week honors for last week’s series at Hickory. The University of Michigan product slashed .375/.444/.813 with one double, two homers, four RBI, and five runs scored. Franklin almost singlehandedly gave Rome the win in the series opener after hitting two long-balls and driving in four total runs. The 22-year-old is now hitting .246/.316/.540 in his first season of professional baseball with 18 doubles, two triples, 21 homers, 53 RBI and 46 runs.

Up Next
After taking three of the five matchups last week in Hickory, the Rome Braves are now 40-49 on the season. As far as the High-A East South standings go, the Braves sit 22 ½ games behind division-leading Bowling Green (63-27), 17 ½ games behind second-place Greensboro (58-32), 7 games behind third-place Greenville (47-42), and ½ game behind fourth-place Hickory (40-48).

As the R-Braves approach the final five weeks of the season, they return home for a six-day homestand against the Greenville Drive. Rome is scheduled to host the Boston Red Sox affiliate for six straight days, starting Tuesday, Aug. 17, and finishing on Sunday, Aug. 22. Games will start at 7 p.m. EDT Tuesday through Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. To purchase tickets or for more information, please visit RomeBraves.com/Promotions or call the Rome Braves Box Office at 706-378-5144.