By Noah Adcock-Howeth, Augusta GreenJackets
COLUMBIA – All nine GreenJacket batters knocked at least one hit, as Augusta scored early and often to end the week in Columbia with an 8-1 victory May 18.
Columbia turned to Blake Wolters to start for the second time this week, hoping for a better outcome than his command-deficient performance on Tuesday. The Jackets pounced on the familiar face however, blasting eight hits and five runs in two-plus innings as Wolters was knocked out after six outs recorded.
Augusta opened the scoring four batters in, as back-to-back walks to Owen Carey and Eric Hartman set the stage for Isaiah Drake to lace a single that scored Carey. Nick Montgomery followed behind with a base hit of his own, doubling the lead. Augusta got two more runs in the second on RBIs from Mason Guerra and Carey, and another Montgomery RBI in the third chased Wolters before his first out of the inning.
While the offense was methodical in its dismantling of Wolters, ‘Jacket starter Samuel Mejia was equally clinical on the mound. In just his third start of the year, Mejia mowed through the Fireflies to the tune of five one-run innings and his second win of the year. His only mistake came in the second, as he hung a slider to Josi Novas that turned into a solo homer for Columbia’s only run of the night.
After three scoreless relief innings posted by Elvis Novas, the Jackets reclaimed their offensive throne by ending the game with three consecutive innings with a run scored. Mac Guscette knocked an RBI single in the seventh, Hartman added on in the eighth, and Guerra barreled a sac fly to the fence to put little doubt into the final result.
The GreenJacket bullpen was as good as ever, as Adam Shoemaker and Justin Long took the baton from Mejia and combined for four scoreless innings with two hits allowed to keep the Fireflies from any thoughts of a comeback.
With a series split in hand, Augusta will take an off-day tomorrow before beginning what should be a highly contested six-game series at home against the red-hot Charleston RiverDogs, who have won ten of their last twelve games. The Fireflies, clinging to a one-game lead at the top of the South Division, now head to Kannapolis for six games against the second-place Cannon Ballers.
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