By Noah Adcock-Howeth, Augusta GreenJackets
NORTH AUGUSTA — The Charleston RiverDogs scored nine runs in just two innings to sprint past the GreenJackets, holding off a late Augusta surge to pick up a 10-8 win and prevent a series sweep Sunday.
In a very similar swing to Friday’s ballgame, Charleston scored a run in the top of the first before the Jackets posted a big inning in the bottom half. The RiverDogs wasted no time against Samuel Mejia, as leadoff man Theo Gillen ripped the second pitch of the game over the right field wall for an early 1-0 lead.
The Jackets remained unphased by Gillen’s homer, as the offense sent nine men to the plate in the first to post a lead they would hold for all too short a time. Owen Carey led the charge with a one-out double off starter Jacob Kmatz, before Isaiah Drake crushed a hanging curveball towards the Kids Zone to put the Jackets up. An RBI single from Mason Guerra and two-run triple from Luis Sanchez brought the inning’s total to five, startling a pitcher in Kmatz that had allowed just one run in his last 15 innings.
While Mejia made short work of the second inning, his wheels fell off in the third in his second time through the order. Narciso Polanco began the inning with a double, and scored on an RBI knock from Gillen. Gillen would trot home on a two-run blast from Brailer Guerrero, and that sent Mejia spiraling. Mejia would walk the next four hitters he saw, two of whom scored to give the Dogs a 5-run frame of their own.
Not content with one big inning, Charleston opted to spoil reliever Juan Sanchez’s first outing of the year by throwing four more runs on the board to pull away early. After retiring the leadoff hitter, Sanchez allowed each of the next six hitters to reach on a walk, fielder’s choice, and four hits, and an error in left field compounded the problems to give the Dogs a 10-5 lead.
The GreenJackets have never been accused of going away quietly, and after Kmatz posted three straight scoreless innings to right the ship, the Jackets tacked on more in the fifth to inch closer. Isaiah Drake roped a one-out single to left field, and Colby Jones followed him by using the humid air to drive his first professional homer to the opposite field, handing Kmatz seven runs in six innings.
After Juan Sanchez’s rough season debut, the bullpen duo of Seth Keller and Jacob Gomez did everything in their power to give the offense a chance. Keller built upon his Tuesday outing of 3.1 hitless innings by delivering four more scoreless frames, flummoxing the RiverDogs with splitter after splitter. Gomez, who got the save on Thursday, worked a 1-2-3 ninth to keep his perfect series intact.
The Jackets cut down the deficit further in the seventh against reliever Bryce Shaffer, using a leadoff error from Larry Martinez to get Owen Carey aboard, and a Nick Montgomery RBI single to come within two runs. Another hit and a walk loaded the bases, but Shaffer struck out Douglas Glod and got Luis Sanchez to line out to keep the tying run at second.
There would be no magic finish tonight, as Augusta was unable to bring themselves to a tie against Cade Citelli, who worked two perfect innings for his first professional save. The win saved Charleston from their first six-game sweep in team history, and brought a seven-game losing streak to a close. For Augusta, they fall two runs short of their first sweep since August 2022, but still take their third home series out of four tries this year.
Augusta will take an off day tomorrow, before traveling eastward for a six-game set in Myrtle Beach against the Pelicans. The GreenJackets won four out of six games against the Pelicans in April, and now see them on the road for the first time this year. Charleston will return home to host the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers for six games, who slide into first place in the division with Augusta’s loss Sunday.
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