(Story courtesy Augusta GreenJackets)
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -. Zach Royse became the first GreenJacket in nearly four years to throw eight innings in a game, holding the Myrtle Beach Pelicans to just four hits in an 11-1 win Saturday evening.
The outing was easily the longest of Royse’s career, and he also added a career-high eight strikeouts in the game without walking a batter. Royse retired the final 13 batters he faced, and the only run on his ledger came from an RBI groundout in the bottom of the second inning.
It was a wire-to-wire win for Augusta (20-18), as the Jackets scored four in the top of the first against struggling opener Luis A. Reyes. Reyes retired the first two men of the day, then walked four in a row to force his skipper’s hand. Riely Hunsaker issued a walk immediately after, before Cooper McMurray roped a two-run single for the first and only hit of the inning.
The Jackets continued to tack on in the middle innings, scoring in the fourth, fifth, and sixth against Hunsaker and Victor Zarraga to pull away from the Pelicans (18-18). McMurray stayed hot with a solo homer in the fourth, with Luis Guanipa and Junior Garcia each adding on runs against Hunsaker. Zarraga escaped further damage in the fifth, but allowed two walks and a double to Nick Montgomery in the next inning to push the lead to seven.
Royse cruised through eight fabulous innings, while Augusta tossed a couple extra runs on the board down the stretch courtesy of Dalton McIntyre, Dallas Macias and McMurray once again. All nine starters reached safely in the game, while eight of nine men got on base multiple times. Myrtle Beach walked ten batters in the game, and hit three more, their highest free pass total of the year.
Styven Paez threw a relatively tame ninth inning after Royse finally ceded the ball, and Paez posted his ninth consecutive scoreless outing for his troubles. The win was the largest margin of victory for Augusta since April 18 against Fayetteville, and tied for the largest margin of victory on the road this year.
The GreenJackets have secured a series split at minimum, and will look for a series win tomorrow behind the tandem of Davis Polo and Kendy Richard. Davis Bracho, who started Tuesday’s game for the Pelicans and did not allow an earned run, will look for another run of success to close out the week in the late 6:35 getaway game.
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