NORTH AUGUSTA – The Augusta GreenJackets posted two runs in the bottom of the first, and trusted the pitching staff to carry the rest of the way as they held off a series of late chances to knock off the Delmarva Shorebirds in the series opener 2-1.
All of Augusta’s (30-22) offense came in that first frame, as they ambushed Denton Biller before he settled in. Tate Southisene began the bottom half with a double to right, and Conor Essenburg followed with a two-bagger of his own to score the game’s first run. After Biller picked up his first strikeout, Juan Mateo yanked a change-up off the right field wall to score Essenburg, giving the GreenJackets a two-run cushion they would ride for the rest of the night.
The two runs would hold thanks to the GreenJacket pitching staff, as Aiven Cabral continued his dominant rookie campaign with 5.1 rock solid innings on the mound. Cabral faced the minimum through four frames, scattering four early strikeouts and riding a convoy of soft contact to his league-leading seventh win of the year.
The lone tally for Delmarva (17-35) came in the top of the 5th, as they finally got to Cabral in his final full frame. Aiven issued a two-out walk to Elvin Garcia, and paid the price one batter later as Miguel Rodriguez hammered a two-strike slider to the gap, scoring Garcia to get the Shorebirds on the board. Cabral bounced right back, however, and retired Raylin Ramos to stay in front.
Neither offense had much to say for the rest of the game, as Biller was able to right the ship after the first and power through 3.2 innings in total with a career-high five strikeouts. Much of the bulk work was done in relief by Andrew Herbert, who in his second game with the organization rolled through four scoreless innings, utilizing two double plays and a pickoff to limit Augusta’s chances to add on.
Cabral and Kade Woods combined to get through six innings, but it was Logan Forsythe who was tasked with the high stress frames late in the game. Forsythe allowed the tying run to reach second base in all three innings, but struck out a career-high six men to escape both the 7th and 8th. Forsythe did not get a chance to play Houdini again in the 9th, as Brad Stoll turned the ball over to Styven Paez, who struck out back-to-back batters to secure the save and the series-opening win.
The GreenJackets have now won five of their last seven games overall, and five of seven games this year against the Shorebirds. Augusta looks to keep its momentum going Wednesday night, as Ethan Bagwell takes the ball on short rest against Delmarva’s Brayan Orrantia.
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