(Story by Noah Adcock-Howeth, Augusta GreenJackets)
CHARLESTON, S.C.: John Damozonio unleashed a thunderous pro debut Friday night, hurling 3.2 hitless innings in relief as the Augusta GreenJackets (34-29, 69-60) pitched their way to a 6-2 victory over the Charleston RiverDogs (35-29, 72-58) to snap a three-game losing streak.
Damozonio was completely prepared for the moment, as the former St. Mary’s arm entered in a tie game in the bottom of the 5th and methodically dismantled the red-hot Charleston offense across 50 pitches. Damozonio struck out four batters, with the only baserunner allowed coming on a dropped third strike in his final inning of relief as he secured his first pro win in his first pro game.
Damozonio continued a game-wide lineage of successful pitching, which was originated by Wil Libbert in his second pro outing. Libbert took the ball on the road for the first time, and marched through 3.2 innings with strong success. Libbert allowed just one run on two infield hits and a wild pitch, and worked into the fourth frame for the first time before Ryan Heppner got the inning’s last out to give Damozonio a clean inning.
Offensively, Augusta struggled to get going early against Charleston ace Aidan Cremarosa, but pieced together enough of a rally to tie the game in the top of the fourth. The Jackets used two singles from Caleb Klein and Cooper McMurray plus a walk to Parker Brosius to load the bases, before Dominic Kibler lifted a fly ball to center that scored Klein and tied the game.
Though unable to take the lead against Cremarosa, Augusta did not let up, and kept the offense going against the pen. The Jackets set the table in the sixth against Jordi Infante, pushing Brosius to third on a walk, pickoff error, and wild pitch, before Dallas Macias got the go-ahead swing with an RBI double.
Augusta continued to pull away late in the game, scoring four runs in their final two innings to garner breathing room for the bullpen. An error and wild pitch crossed two runners in the top of the 8th, before Macias stayed hot with another double in the 9th, this one plating a pair of runs against Bryce Shaffer to push the game out of reach.
When Damozonio ran out of bullets, Adiel Melendez came on for the final four outs and snagged his first professional save to continue his dominant stretch. Melendez did allow the inherited runner to score in unearned fashion, but struck out three of the last four hitters he saw to post his sixth straight outing without an earned run. Melendez has been a revelation in his first pro season, continuously flashing dominance from the left side and leading the team in wins.
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