COLUMBIA – After the Columbia Fireflies jumped out to an early advantage, the Augusta GreenJackets retaliated quickly and efficiently to snap up a 7-3 win and a series split in their final trip to Segra Park this summer.
All of Columbia’s offense came in one burst, as they took advantage of some early wildness from Luis Arestigueta to post a big inning in the bottom of the second. Arestigueta began the inning by walking each of the first three batters, with a caught stealing of Hyungchan Um keeping the bases from being loaded. The Fireflies would take advantage of the lapses, as Gabriel Silva blooped a single to right to open the scoring, and Henry Ramos yanked a two-out, two-run triple to score a pair.
After Augusta stranded a pair in the third, the offense finally broke through against Emmanuel Reyes in his 4th and final inning. Isaiah Drake cracked his first of three hits on the day, and immediately stole second. A wild pitch pushed Drake to third, and Nick Montgomery brought him home with a ground-rule double to get on the board.
After Reyes was removed in favor of Mason Miller in the 5th, the GreenJackets ran rampant against the bullpen to take the lead. A single, error, and walk loaded the bases with nobody out, and Luis Guanipa thumped a single up the middle to make it a one-run game. After a strikeout, Drake poked another opposite field base hit, scoring two and giving Augusta a 4-3 lead.
Despite the rough command, Arestigueta worked into the 5th inning for the second straight night, ending one out shy of his first win of the year. Arestigueta walked a career-high six hitters in total, but did not see another run cross after the second before he was supplanted by Reibyn Corona with two outs in the fifth inning.
After Corona punched out Josi Novas to end the threat in the fifth, the offense retaliated with another three-run inning to build an insurmountable lead. Another RBI knock from Luis Guanipa chased Miller, but both inherited runners handed to Dash Albus scored thanks to a Drake single and Eric Hartman RBI double.
Corona earned the win with 3.1 scoreless innings, his 5th victory of the season. Corona is now tied for the team lead in victories with Rayven Antonio, and continued to throw well in the back half of the season. Justin Militello worked a scoreless ninth, and the Jackets ended the week on a high note for a second straight night.
The Jackets now return home to SRP Park, with a day off on the horizon Monday. Augusta’s next action will come Tuesday evening, as they play host to the Salem Red Sox for the first and only time this year. It will be the last action at SRP Park for over two weeks, as the series will be followed by the All Star Break and a nine-game roadtrip.
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