(Story courtesy Augusta GreenJackets)
NORTH AUGUSTA – For the second home game in a row, the Augusta GreenJackets grabbed a win in less than nine innings as scattered storms shut the ballgame down early in a 9-5 victory over the Charleston RiverDogs.
Augusta hosted its first Education Day of the season, meaning an early 11:05 a.m. start, but the bats for both sides looked wide awake early. Two very competent starters in Cade Kuehler and Gary Gill Hill took the ball for their respective clubs, but both encountered immediate pushback from the opposite offenses. Charleston struck first, as Tre’ Morgan roped a triple into the right field corner to give the RiverDogs a 1-0 lead early. Morgan was unstoppable all afternoon, going a perfect 4-4 and finishing the day a home run shy of the cycle.
The GreenJackets wasted no time responding against Gill Hill, with each of the first four batters reaching base safely. An RBI single and subsequent error off the bat of Diego Benitez, along with a sacrifice fly from Robert Gonzalez, made the ballgame 3-1 after the first.
The next few frames were dominated by the pitching, with Narciso Polanco’s RBI single providing a run in the fourth for Charleston. The RiverDogs would tie the game in the fifth after Cade Kuehler allowed a double and a walk with two outs. He was lifted for Mitch Farris, who walked the first two he faced to allow a run to score.
The RiverDogs were already threatening in the sixth, with two on and two outs against Farris, when a storm surged across SRP Park and forced the tarp onto the field. A nearly hour-long rain delay ensued, and Charleston wasted no time on the other end. Facing the newly-entered Reibyn Corona, Angel Mateo drilled a two-run double into the left field corner to give Charleston the first lead of the day.
After five solid innings from Gary Gill Hill, the emergence of Hayden Snelsire on the mound was a welcome sight. Drew Compton led off the sixth with a double that extended his hit streak to 15, and three walks set the stage for a bases-loaded chance for Jace Grady. Grady did not disappoint, crushing a grand slam just to the left of the TaxSlayer Terrace for his team-high fourth homer of the year, and first home run at SRP Park by a Jackets player all season. Corona would post a scoreless top of the seventh, before the game was suspended again and subsequently canceled due to heavy rain and lightning.
Augusta moves to .500 on the year, now 11-11 and 5-5 at home. The GreenJackets are back out against the RiverDogs again at 7:05 p.m. as Santiago Suarez faces off against Davis Polo.
