(Story courtesy Augusta GreenJackets)
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -The turning of the calendar page bought good tidings to the GreenJackets, who played their most complete game of the season in a 10-0 thrashing of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers Saturday night.
Augusta put men in scoring position with two outs in both the first and third innings, but did not muster a run against starter Raimy Rodriguez. That would change in the third, as a Luis Sanchez walk and Jace Grady single and advancement set the table for Will Verdung with nobody out. Verdung chopped a slider past the diving glove of third baseman Xavier Casserilla, scoring two for Augusta’s first lead of the night. Verdung himself came home on a Robert Gonzalez single to give a three-run cushion to Garrett Baumann.
That was more than enough for Baumann who cruised through his Saturday outing with a plethora of ground balls and weak pop ups. Baumann fired six scoreless frames with three hits and four strikeouts, not walking a batter and placing himself in perfect position to pick up his team-high fourth win of the year.
While Baumann went to work, the offense extended its action against piggyback arm Julio Marte. Marte entered in the fifth and retired the first two batters he saw, but a single, walk, and error on Marte himself cracked the window open for Augusta to add to the lead. Joe Olsavsky came to the dish and in his first professional game as a designated hitter, stroked a three-run double over the head of a turned-around left fielder to double the lead. The ‘Jackets would add another three-spot in the seventh, thanks to birthday boy Cam Magee. The now-22 year old shortstop went 3-3 on the day with a hit by pitch and sac fly, but capped his performance with his first homer of the year, a three-run shot to right-center field to put any question of the outcome to bed.
After Baumann departed following the sixth, reliever Will Silva was summoned to hold the line where it was. Silva had pitched well in May, but rarely saw action with the team in front, often used in a mop-up rule to keep deficits from ballooning out of hand. Silva responded to the positive situation in kind, allowing one hit and striking out a career-high five in his longest outing of the year, working the last three innings and earning his first professional save.
Augusta will go for the series split tomorrow evening, facing off with righty Ethan Pecko who earned the save on Tuesday in relief of Jackson Nezuh. Augusta will counter with Cade Kuehler, who went to school 25 miles north of Fayetteville at Campbell University, and will have a strong contingency of supporters at Segra Stadium tomorrow.
The GreenJackets will be back at home beginning June 4 for a six-game series against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, whom they split a six-game road series with at the beginning of May. Key moments of the upcoming homestand include a Ronald Acuña Jr. Bobblehead Giveaway on Tuesday, and the 2024 debut of the Augusta Pimento Cheese alternate identity, with a new jersey inspired by the jumpsuits worn by caddies at The Masters, worn on the field Saturday, June 8 with a subsequent jersey auction to benefit Ronald McDonald House of Augusta. Tickets and more info about all the things happening at SRP Park can be found at greenjacketsbaseball.com.
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