Story by Noah Adcock-Howeth, Augusta GreenJackets; photos by Mike Adams, Augusta Good News
NORTH AUGUSTA – Braves first-rounder and top prospect Cam Caminiti looked incredibly strong in his pro debut but allowed one run that gave him a losing decision in a one-sided 5-2 ballgame against the Columbia Fireflies.
Caminiti worked three innings, scattering three hits and striking out four including each of the last two men he faced. The young lefty’s fastball reached 96 on the radar gun and his slider dazzled, especially to lefties. Columbia manufactured one run in the second, using a leadoff single from Derlin Figueroa, two groundouts, and a wild pitch to put themselves up 1-0.
While Caminiti may have carried the excitement entering the day, it was Firefly starter Logan Martin who put on a show. Martin spun arguably his best outing as a pro, tossing five scoreless frames and tying his career high with seven strikeouts. Martin earned his fourth win of the season and first against the GreenJackets in four tries.
The Fireflies would tack on a pair in the 4th to extend their lead against Hayder Ortiz, who struggled with his command in his second outing of the series. Ortiz allowed two doubles and walked four, but a pickoff and a popup induced by his successor Adam Shoemaker limited the damage to just a pair of runs.
Shoemaker would yield runs in both the sixth and seventh to extend the lead to five, paced by Figueroa who went 2-3 with a walk, sac fly, and twp RBIs in a fantastic all-around day. Augusta would make one last gasp in the 9th, using two singles and an error to set the tone and bringing home a pair of runs. Elvis Novas was summoned for the last out of the game, striking out Luis Guanipa for his sixth save in as many tries this year.
The home slate of 2024 comes to a close Sunday evening with one final game at 6:35 p.m. from SRP Park. Jacob Shafer makes his second home start of the year, while Jonatan Bernal throws for the second time this series after looking strong in a long relief role in game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader. The week’s series is tied 3-3, and the season series 10-10, so Sunday serves as not only a finale but a true rubber match in the 2024 series between Augusta and Columbia.
Augusta Good News is an award-winning member of the Georgia Press Association.
