(Story courtesy Augusta GreenJackets)
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Carter Holton turned in the best start of his professional career, spinning six scoreless innings while allowing just two hits as the Augusta GreenJackets (14-10, 49-41) ended their losing streak with a highly needed 7-5 win against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (12-11, 44-44) on July 19.
Augusta held the Woodpeckers scoreless for 8.1 innings, and used an early offensive outburst to pick up the first win since the All Star Break. Fayetteville made things incredibly dicey in the bottom of the ninth, scoring five runs off of Styven Paez and Ryan Heppner, but Heppner retired Waner Luciano as the tying run to allow Augusta to exhale and get on the road with a win.
The GreenJacket bats, which had been held in check as of late, opened up the scoring immediately, chasing Aubrey Smith from the game in just one inning as they scored four runs in the top of the first. After Augusta loaded the bases on two walks and a single, Tanner Smith blazed a line drive up the middle to score a pair. Two batters later, Junior Garcia added on a two-run single of his own to complete the big inning.
Holton hit cruise control early, and needed very little support from his offense over his longest start as a pro. But the Jackets were not done adding on, and tacked on two more in the third to extend the lead to six. Alex Lodise put the cherry on top with an emphatic home run in the fourth that nearly left the stadium entirely, and though Augusta did not score in its final five chances, the lead was enough to survive and emerge victorious.
Manager Brad Stoll opted to use as many relievers as possible in an effort to shake off rust in the aftermath of the All Star Break, continuously calling upon new arms after Holton was finished. Logan Forsythe, Cristobal Abreu, and Lewis Sifontes combined for two scoreless innings, but the Woodpeckers used five hits and a walk to get the Jackets’ hearts pounding before falling just short.
The GreenJackets end the weekend in Fayetteville by snapping their five-game losing streak, and now travel north to battle the Salem RidgeYaks for the second time in a month. Augusta split a six-game series with Salem at home, but now visits Carilion Clinic Field for the first time in two years. Monday is an off day to recover, with the series beginning Tuesday evening at 6:35 p.m.
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