(Story courtesy the Augusta GreenJackets)
SALEM, VA: The Augusta GreenJackets (17-13, 52-44) scored six runs in the top of the first inning and never let up, continuously adding to the total in a heavily lopsided 13-3 win over the Salem RidgeYaks (16-14, 44-54) Sunday night.
The Jackets made a mockery of 18-year-old Williams Montero’s Single-A debut, tagging the young arm for a half dozen as Augusta batted around and Montero failed to make it out of the first inning. Montero walked four and hit another, with Junior Garcia’s two-run single emphasizing the big inning.
With a big lead in tow, Carter Holton battled through some subpar command, and held Salem largely in check through four gutsy innings. Holton walked a career-high six batters, but induced two double plays and ended an inning with a pickoff to navigate a two-run homer from Andrew Musett and keep Augusta in front.
While the Jackets did little to add on after the first, they found the insurance runs they craved in the back half of the ballgame against Leighton Finley. In a week and a season defined by long balls, Alex Lodise and Conor Essenburg went back-to-back in the top of the 6th to extend the lead to seven runs. Lodise and Essenburg combined for four RBIs today, and 5 HRs with 10 RBIs across the six-game series.
The GreenJackets bullpen was solid through the five innings it had to cover, with Ryan Heppner, Kade Woods, and Cristobal Abreu allowing just one run. Heppner picked up his first professional win, working his first multi-inning scoreless outing in Single-A in the process.
All nine hitters reached for the GreenJackets, and eight of nine tallied a hit in the lengthy affair. The Jackets walked eleven times over nine innings, and had two more hit by pitches as free passes set the stage for many run-scoring opportunities throughout the afternoon.
With a series split secured, the GreenJackets’ road trip of nine games in ten days has come to a triumphant end. The Jackets now return home to SRP Park, where they will take a much-needed day off before returning to play Tuesday against the streaking Columbia Fireflies, who have lit a fire since the All-Star Break.
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