(Story courtesy Augusta GreenJackets)
NORTH AUGUSTA – Tanner Smith became the first GreenJacket to hit three home runs in SRP Park history, but the Augusta offense came up one run short as the GreenJackets fell 7-6 against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers to end the series on May 3.
Smith entered the day with three home runs on the year in 12 starts, and doubled that total in three at bats, totaling four RBIs and 13 total bases on the day for a generational output at the plate.
Despite Smith’s efforts, Kannapolis’ offense was too much to overcome, beginning on the second pitch of the day when Abraham Nunez hit the Cannon Ballers’ first leadoff home run since 2021 out of the stadium entirely to ambush Davis Polo and begin a four-run first that Augusta would not recover from.
Kannapolis used four arms in the win, beginning with opener Jackson Nove, who stranded the bases loaded in the second inning to work two scoreless in his first start since high school. The Jackets did the heavy lifting against Truman Pauley and Trey Cooper, but it was not enough to keep pace with Kannapolis.
The Ballers totaled three homers on the day, all solo shots, as James Taussig joined Nunez on the board in the sixth against Kendy Richard while Jaden Fauske tagged Richard one inning later, for Fauske’s first long ball as a pro. Richard worked four innings in relief of Polo, who went the same amount as the starter and allowed four runs, with Kendy ceding seven hits including five extra base hits as he tied his longest outing of the year.
Four of Augusta’s six runs came from Tanner Smith’s homers but the other two both were posted with two outs in the sixth against Cooper, courtesy of RBI singles from Dallas Macias and Alex Lodise. Lodise and Dalton McIntyre joined Smith in multi-hit days, with the team posting eleven hits in the loss.
Jordan Morales earned the win in relief in his organizational debut, joining the White Sox after spending last year in the Atlantic League with the York Revolution. Morales allowed a leadoff single in the ninth to Lodise, but stranded the tying run at first with two flyouts and a fielder’s choice to secure the win.
The victory gives the Cannon Ballers their first series win of the year, and hands the GreenJackets their first six-game series loss of 2026. Augusta will have one off day to reset, before the red-hot Charleston RiverDogs visit SRP Park having won eight of their last ten games entering Sunday.
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