(Story by Noah Adcock-Howeth, Augusta GreenJackets)
NORTH AUGUSTA – David Davalillo twirled 6.2 scoreless innings, and was backed up by 2.1 hitless from Justin Sanchez, as the Wood Ducks continued to dominate their time at SRP Park with a 7-0 win Saturday.
Davalillo has been the arguable ace for Down East all season, sporting a sub-2.00 ERA, and backed up that dominant line with a spectacular performance at SRP Park. Augusta mustered a first inning single from Will Verdung and sixth inning knock for Luis Sanchez, but that was all the solid contact made on the evening as the young Venezuelan picked up his sixth win on the year.
JR Ritchie took the ball for Augusta in his second home start of 2024 and was solid, but had to be perfect to keep pace with Davalillo and took just enough lumps from the Ducks to earn his second loss in a row. Pablo Guerrero got the scoring starting in the second, roping a base hit up the middle to score Yeremi Cabrera. Down East doubled the lead in the third, as Echedry Vargas cranked hi third homer of the week and team-high 12th of the season. Ritchie tied his season-high in strikeouts with seven, but was on the wrong side of the shut out.
Down East’s offense was unrelenting against the bullpen, continuously adding to their lead and leaving little doubt as to the final result. Guerrero tacked a pair of runs on in the sixth against Adam Shoemaker via a two-RBI double, now totaling an impressive seven RBI in his first five games in Single-A baseball. Shoemaker struck out three in 1.1 frames but could not salve the middle third of the order.
The skies opened up and rain doused SRP Park in the seventh, enough to irritate but not enough to suspend play. Giomar Diaz tried to brave the elements, but was knocked around to the tune of five consecutive one-out hits, with RBIs coming from Beycker Barroso, Julian Brock, and Yeremi Cabrera to extend the lead beyond a touchdown.
Justin Sanchez did not allow a hit as he closed out the ballgame in a non-save situation, impressing with his off-speed offerings in his return from the injured list. Down East has now won 9 straight games, the longest active winning streak in Single-A, and remain within 3.5 games of the top spot in the Northern Division. Augusta’s losing streak extends to a franchise-record 13, and the GreenJackets will attempt to avoid a sweep tomorrow night. David Rodriguez makes his first start in a GreenJackets uniform, going against the Wood Ducks’ leader in strikeouts Jose Gonzalez at 5:05 p.m.. Tickets are available online at greenjacketsbaseball.com or at the box office at SRP Park.
