KANNAPOLIS, NC: Dallas Macias crushed a three-run home run with two outs in the top of the eighth inning, giving the GreenJackets the lead for the first time as they held on for a 6-5 win over the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers..
The Jackets (26-21) did not lead for the first sixteen innings of the series, but rallied late in the game against the Ballers bullpen to snap Kannapolis’ eight-game win streak. The rally started with a bloop double by Luis Guanipa against Marco Barrios, before Barrios was able to retire the next two men he saw. Kannapolis (25-22) went to its bullpen and grabbed Jordan Morales for the four-out save, but Morales allowed an infield single to Michael Martinez before Macias clobbered the first pitch he saw to the top of the berm behind left field for the lead.
The lion’s share of Kannapolis’ offense came in the early goings against Derek Vartanian, offering the Charlotte-area native a rude homecoming. Vartanian allowed four runs on three homers as he was chased in just three innings. Rylan Galvan opened the scoring with a solo shot in the second, and Javier Mogollon and Stiven Flores went back-to-back in the third for a 4-0 lead.
Augusta got on the board against starter Truman Pauley in the fourth, with the bottom of the order again providing the spark. After loading the bases with one out, Martinez hammered a line drive single to center to push the first run across. Macias followed up with an RBI fielder’s choice, cutting the deficit in half before Trey Cooper came on in relief and punched out Cooper McMurray to end the threat.
The GreenJacket bullpen was brilliant in relief of Vartanian, consistently quashing the Cannon Baller bats to keep Augusta within striking distance. Carter Lovasz went three hitless innings with a career-high five strikeouts, while Adiel Melendez posted zeroes in the 7th and 8th frames as he earned his second professional win.
Augusta pushed an unearned run across in the top of the 9th, and that run proved imperative as the Ballers showed great fight against Styven Paez in the ninth inning. A walk and single put the tying run on, but Paez punched out two to bring himself one out away from the save. That save would not come easy though, as Jaden Fauske lobbed an RBI single to center, scoring the first run against Paez since April 4. With the winning run on base, Mogollon ripped a first pitch liner to the gap, but Guanipa took away the winning swing with a sliding grab to end the game.
With the series even at one, and Kannapolis’ eight-game win streak now in the past, the GreenJackets retake the field Thursday looking to put back-to-back wins on the board against their division rival. Ethan Bagwell gets the start on slightly short rest, aiming to keep rolling through what has been a perfect May, while Kannapolis will begin with Blaine Wynk in what will likely be a bullpen game.
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