(Story courtesy Noah Adcock-Howeth, Augusta GreenJackets)
NORTH AUGUSTA – A consistent barrage of hits from the Wood Ducks seemed to only increase with two outs, as Down East clubbed 15 hits and outpaced the GreenJackets 6-2 at SRP Park Wednesday.
Looking to end their skid, the GreenJackets entrusted the start to Didier Fuentes, who has been one of the most dominant starters on the roster all year long. Fuentes started off aggressively, attacking with fastballs and overmatching the Down East offense as he struck out six men in his first three innings.
The middle innings were less kind to the ‘Jackets, as Fuentes ran into trouble in the fourth. With two down and a man at second, Fuentes hung a two-strike slider to Pablo Guerrero, who celebrated his 18th birthday in style by crushing a two-run blast over the concourse to give the Wood Ducks an early lead. An Esteban Mejia double and Chandler Pollard single would follow, adding an extra tally before the fpurth concluded.
Augusta’s offense would answer somewhat in the bottom half against starter Kyle Larsen, returning to the Wood Duck roster after over a month in the Arizona Complex League. Junior Garcia worked a leadoff walk, advanced to third on a Harry Owen double, and scored on a grounder from Luis Sanchez to get Augusta on the board before Larsen escaped the frame.
Down East would waste no time answering themselves, placing men at first and second within three batters. A fly out garnered out number two, but Julian Brock and Yeremi Cabrera each punched RBI singles through the middle to chase Fuentes from the game, handing him five earned runs and a losing decision on his way.
The GreenJackets retaliated once more in the 5th against sidearm reliever Luke Savage, who was greeted coldly with back to back doubles from Noah Williams and Willmer De La Cruz, who reached base in all 3 plate appearances in his GreenJacket debut. Augusta once again left a man in scoring position, and would not score again in the contest as Savage, Alberto Mota and Adonis Villavicencio combined for four straight zeroes to ice the win.
Albert Rivas impressed in relief for Augusta, stranding both inherited runners left by Fuentes and working two scoreless innings of his own in his fifth appearance of the year. Giomar Diaz struck out three in the eighth, but had his scoreless inning streak snapped at nine when Echedry Vargas led off the ninth with his second homer in as many days, adding insurance and placing a cherry on top of the sixth consecutive win for the Wood Ducks. All nine hitters reached base for Down East for the second consecutive game, with the Wood Ducks now having five long balls in two games at SRP Park this week.
Adam Maier returns to the mound Thursday for his first appearance in nearly six weeks to bring this franchise-long losing streak to a close. Maier will face off against fellow righty Wilian Bormie for the Wood Ducks, who will be followed by piggyback arm Kolton Curtis. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., and tickets are available online at greenjacketsbaseball.com or at the box office at SRP Park.
Augusta Good News is an award-winning member of the Georgia Press Association. Sign up for the weekly newsletter here.
