NORTH AUGUSTA – In one of the most lopsided games in SRP Park history, the Hickory Crawdads (14-6, 48-36) scored in six of their first seven offensive innings and steamrolled the Augusta GreenJackets (13-7, 48-38) by a score of 13-2 on July 11.
Hickory could do no wrong, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first against Davis Polo and never taking their foot off the gas. Three hits and two walks led to that big first inning, and Polo faced just one batter in the second before departing the game with the athletic training staff.
Once Polo left the game for unfortunate reasons, there was no relenting from the Crawdads. Hickory battered each reliever they saw, putting up three runs apiece against Adiel Melendez and Logan Forsythe, and one more against Lewis Sifontes. Free passed proved to be a major issue for Augusta, as the fourteen walks and five errors issued both proved to be the most this season.
Augusta’s offense was held in check by Aidan Deakins, who posted five scoreless innings while navigating hard contact as he picked up his sixth straight win. Deakins did not allow a hit in his final three innings, and only two total as he rebounded from a tough outing last week with one of his best of the year.
All of the Jackets’ most productive swings came in the final three frames, continuing the trend of success against the bullpen. Augusta scored four unanswered to end the night, highlighted by a pair of RBIs from Luis Guanipa, who leads the league in that category with 63. Cooper McMurray also had two hits, and is now 8-16 with 8 RBI this week.
After exhausting the bullpen, Augusta was forced to use not one, but two position players on the mound. Despite the chaos that usually follows such a decision, Joe Olsavsky tossed 2.2 hitless innings with just one run allowed, saving the pen from former stress. Hayden Friese also tossed a zero in the ninth, including a strikeout in his first professional pitching appearance for good measure.
Despite the nasty taste left by tonight’s proceedings, the GreenJackets still have the chance to pick up a series win tomorrow afternoon in the final game of the week. The 2:05 matinee pits Evan Siary, Hickory’s leader in innings pitched, against Kendy Richard, who makes his second start of the week after a short outing on Tuesday. Sunday is the last game before the All-Star Break, where the entire league rests for four days in the heart of the summer.
Augusta Good News is an award-winning member of the Georgia Press Association, receiving a second place General Excelle
