(Story courtesy Augusta GreenJackets)
SALISBURY, MD – Six straight batters reached to start the game for the GreenJackets Wednesday night, and the squad never looked back, keeping their feet on the gas in an 11-1 dismantling of the Delmarva Shorebirds on a frigid night at Perdue Stadium
Shorebird starter Keeler Morfe had a catastrophic first start of the year, giving up two hits, three walks, and a hit by pitch before leaving with the Athletic Trainer with apparent elbow discomfort. All in all, Augusta would score four in the first inning via RBIs from Luis Guanipa, Caden Merritt and Cooper McMurray, along with a wild pitch.
While Augusta’s bats were rolling early, Delmarva’s hitters were held in check by Derek Vartanian in his pro debut. Nearly 25 months since his last official game, which came back at Campbell University in 2024, Vartanian returned in emphatic fashion, scattering six hits and a run while punching out seven batters. Vartanian did not walk a batter, and ended his night one out shy of qualifying for the win.
Augusta’s offense kept on rolling against the bullpen, pulling away early after Delmarva scored their lone run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second. The Jackets extended the lead to 6-1 in the third on two-out RBIs from Tanner Smith and Luis Sanchez at the bottom of the order, and added two more in the fourth against Kailen Hamson. Both runs in the 4th were brought home by Caden Merritt, who in his fourth pro game went 2-3 with 2 RBI and 2 walks, and now has 5 RBIs in two games at Perdue Stadium this week.
Augusta turned to the bullpen with two outs in the 5th, and there was no letup in terms of the team’s dominance. Ryan Heppner got a K to end the frame, and Logan Forsythe came on for two hitless innings in his stead. Augusta’s final charge of offense came in the top of the seventh, as Tate Southisene crushed his first professional homer high over the wall in left field, to bring the lead to double digits. From there, it was all academic, as Styven Paez worked two scoreless innings at the back end and slammed the door on Augusta’s second win in as many days.
The GreenJackets have now scored eight runs or more in each of their last three games, and have 11 hits in all three of those games as well. On Thursday, Landon Beidelschies takes the ball on the mound, and tries to make it a three-game winning streak in the first few games in Delmarva. Augusta will face Kiefer Lord on the mound, who was hit hard in the season opener and has dealt with heavy injury in the last two years.
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